Las Vegas Grand Prix
Location: Las Vegas, Nev.
Course: Las Vegas Strip Circuit
Course Length: 6.20km
Laps: 50
Las Vegas Grand Prix Race Preview
Lando Norris heads into the Las Vegas Grand Prix having continued to build his momentum toward a World Championship with a win in Brazil. McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri continued his slide in the opposite direction, finishing only fifth – his fifth consecutive race without reaching the podium. Max Verstappen can never be counted out, but he is in need for a significant swing in points to realistically get back in the picture.
The other high-profile battle is for second place in the Constructors Championship. Mercedes has a modest 32-point lead over Red Bull, who has only a four-point lead over Ferrari. With those three teams within 36 points of each other, there could be significant movement by season's end.
Key Stats at Las Vegas Strip Circuit
- Races: 2
- Winners from pole: 1
- Winners from top-5 starters: 2
- Winners from top-10 starters: 2
Previous Las Vegas Winners
2024- George Russell
2023 – Max Verstappen
When the Las Vegas Strip Circuit debuted, speed was the expected primary characteristic of the track. That's been accurate, as drivers are full throttle for nearly 80 percent of the track. However, the bigger challenge has proven to be getting tires up to temperature given the cool temperature at the time of the race. The grand prix began at 10 pm Pacific time each of the first two years, but it was moved to 8 pm for this year's edition. That should help the tire issue to some degree, but it's unclear exactly how much.
Those low temperatures also typically cause tire wear and turn this into a two-stop race. While track position will still be important, two stops should create opportunity to use different strategies and tire compounds, giving some mobility up and down the field.
RotoWire Formula 1 DFS Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the Las Vegas Grand Prix
Based on Standard $50k Salary Cap
Tier 1 Value Picks
Lando Norris - $13,600
Max Verstappen- $13,400
Oscar Piastri - $11,600
George Russell - $11,000
Tier 2 Value Picks
Charles Leclerc-$9,600
Kimi Antonelli - $8,000
Tier 3 Value Picks
Fernando Alonso - $6,000
Alex Albon- $5,800
Carlos Sainz Jr. - $5,200
Oliver Bearman - $4,800
Tier 4 Value Picks
Liam Lawson - $4,400
Pierre Gasly - $3,800
Gabriel Bortoleto - $3,600
Constructor Values
McLaren - $14,000
Mercedes - $11,000
Ferrari- $9,900
Williams- $3,200
Haas - $3,100
Formula 1 DFS Picks for the Las Vegas Grand Prix
Captain – George Russell - $16,500
Charles Leclerc- $9,600
Oliver Bearman- $4,800
Liam Lawson - $4,400
Gabriel Bortoleto - $3,600
Constructor – Mercedes - $11,000
Because of the quirky schedule of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, we have some early on pace from FP1 and FP2 at the time this article was drafted. As usual, teams are running different programs during these practices, so things could look quite different. Nevertheless, there are some takeaways.
Three notable omissions from my weekend picks are Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and McLaren. Their results were terrible in the debut race at Las Vegas in 2023, and in 2024 the duo finished sixth and seventh, respectively. That doesn't mean the same results will follow in 2025, but Norris specifically has downplayed expectations for the weekend. The pace of Max Verstappen and George Russell is equally unclear, but I'll opt for the discount and use Russell as Captain.
That discussion leads us into the Constructor selection. McLaren remains the obvious choice, but Mercedes is emerging as a close second due to the recent form of Kimi Antonelli. After a shaky start to his rookie F1 season, Antonelli has finished inside the top six in four of his last five races and inside the top five three times in that span. He's a decent selection as an individual driver for those who would prefer to build through Verstappen or a McLaren driver as opposed to Russell.
With two major pieces of the lineup locked in, we can move to some values. Oliver Bearman is the standout in this section. He has come on even stronger than Antonelli relative to expectation and the capability of his car by logging points in four straight races and five of his last seven. Bearman is comfortably the top driver for Haas and is positioning himself to take Lewis Hamilton's seat at Ferrari in the next year or two.
Setting aside last week's disaster at his home race, Gabriel Bortoleto has generally been in better form of the two Kick Sauber drivers. Pierre Gasly is in a similar position, and the duo could be on the fringes of the points battle this weekend.
Formula 1 Betting Picks for the Las Vegas Grand Prix
Race Winner – Max Verstappen (+200), Lando Norris (+300), George Russell (+450)
Podium Finish – Oscar Piastri (+285)
Top-Six Finish - Oscar Piastri (-150)
Top-10 Finish – Oliver Bearman (+400)
These odds will continue to shift as we learn more information throughout the weekend, but for now, it stands out how much Oscar Piastri is being dismissed. He has longer odds to win than Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc, both of whom have had long stretches of being underwhelming. Piastri is undoubtedly currently in a slump, but the same was true of Norris a couple of months ago.
Bearman is also a good value. He has not performed well in either practice session to this point, but his recent form says there is still plenty of time for him to turn his weekend around.
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