The Las Vegas Grand Prix is set for its second instalment this weekend where Max Verstappen will be hoping to hit the ultimate jackpot of a fourth Formula 1 world championship.
Red Bull’s man leads nearest challenger Lando Norris by 62 points with 86 left available, so simply finishing behind the McLaren driver by just one position may wrap things up.
But Vegas is an event Verstappen heavily criticised last year saying “Monaco is Champions League, this is National League” adding it’s “99% show, 1% race”.
That ‘show’ included five teams running a special livery - Alfa Romeo, AlphaTauri, Red Bull, Ferrari and Williams - while several drivers rocked a one-off helmet.
It will even be a similar situation this year, so which teams will race around the Las Vegas Strip Circuit with a changed livery?
F1 teams running a special livery at the 2024 Las Vegas GP
Williams
Williams was the first team to announce a change of livery for the Las Vegas GP, though much hasn’t changed on the FW46 compared to last time out.
The British squad, which lies ninth in the constructors’ championship, launched a heritage livery for the Mexico-Brazil back-to-back where the engine cover was painted yellow for the first time in 31 years.
It marked the team’s championship-winning years from 1983 to 1993, done with a yellow engine cover, and featured Mercado Libre branding, an E-commerce and digital payments giant in Latin America.
Williams has kept the yellow for Vegas, but this time cybersecurity company Keeper will take centre stage on the engine cover with Darren Guccione, CEO and co-founder of Keeper, saying “it celebrates the team’s technical mastery and elevated design”.
This contrasts a significant change to the Williams livery for last year’s race, where the engine cover and rear wing featured a Vegas sign and stars, with the team name slashed across in bold, neon font.
Sauber
Sauber was the second team to unveil a special livery for Vegas and, again, has opted for less of a change compared to last year.
In 2023, when it competed as Alfa Romeo, the Swiss squad took inspiration from the local culture by running an all-black livery with playing card motifs to mark Vegas’ gambling scene. This was a change from the mostly-red and black livery that the team ran, while its sponsor decals were white.
But the team then underwent a re-brand for 2024 as its partnership with Alfa Romeo ended, so Sauber launched a striking neon green and black C44 to honour its title sponsor Stake.
That colour scheme will remain this weekend, but much of the green will be in the shape of a flame as Sauber stated it is a symbol of its “unwavering spirit” and not giving up “until the very end, no matter what challenges are thrown in front of it”.
Sauber sits bottom of the constructors’ championship and is the only team yet to score a point with three grands prix remaining.
Team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi said: “Our special livery for Las Vegas is more than just a design – it’s a representation of our team’s ethos and of Stake’s philosophy.
“We push forward with relentless passion, just as this city does, and we’re excited to showcase our fiery spirit on one of the most thrilling stages in motorsport.”
Alpine
Alpine is the third team to have changed its livery for this weekend, though the French squad will actually use it for Qatar and Abu Dhabi as well.
Fresh from a season-defining double podium in Brazil which lifted Alpine to sixth in the standings, it is running an all-pink livery in honour of title sponsor BWT. Though the team has run pink before, this is the most pink its car has had for a long time with it also being a very bright shade of the colour.
This isn’t the first time Alpine has used a special livery this year either. It competed with a Deadpool and Wolverine inspired scheme in Belgium to mark the release of the film and its celebrity investor and actor in the Marvel hit Ryan Reynolds.
In Austin, meanwhile, Alpine cars were inspired by Indiana Jones being decked in ‘sunset orange’, while featuring an ancient map and red travel routes from the world-famous film franchise. This is all different to the blue and black that Alpine has contested two-thirds of the season with, while it sometimes replaces the blue with pink.
RB
RB was the final team to announce a new look for Vegas, where Red Bull’s sister squad has launched a “glitter-inspired” livery to mark its title sponsor’s Cash App Visa Glitter Card that comes in the blue and green the VCARB01 will run in this weekend.
The Italian squad, currently eighth in the championship, will also use the glitter design on its race suits and team wear with CEO Peter Bayer saying Vegas was the obvious destination to run the special livery given RB chose the Nevadan city as the venue for its season launch.
He said: “It wouldn’t be Las Vegas without a touch of glitter, and as the home of glitz, it only felt right to bring this livery to the Las Vegas race.”
Last year, when it was called AlphaTauri, the team ran a black base with white stripes in Vegas marking a new fashion range produced by the Red Bull clothing brand, which the squad was named after.
F1 drivers wearing a special helmet at the 2024 Las Vegas GP
It’s not just teams who can change their look for a race, as drivers are allowed to run a special helmet design at various points across the season.
Vegas last year, for example, had 10 drivers - Alex Albon, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Esteban Ocon, Verstappen, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz - change their helmet design for the weekend and although that number isn’t as large in 2024, some are still opting to do such a thing.
Alex Albon
For last year’s race Albon ditched his navy helmet for a sky blue one, which featured images of the local scenery like the famous Las Vegas welcome sign, the desert or palm trees. But in 2024, Albon is sticking to the navy base with a star-like design and flashes of pink as the Williams driver attempts to end a run of four grands prix without a point.
Esteban Ocon
Ocon is another driver switching helmets again for Vegas, where last year the Frenchman rocked a lid that was inspired by Deadpool’s mask. The Alpine driver is an avid Marvel fan so he is sticking with that theme in 2024, as Ocon is sporting a tribute to Captain America this weekend with his helmet resembling the flag of the United States.
