Leclerc: We will have a shot to win Las Vegas GP

Formula 1 returns next weekend for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which will kick off the final triple header of the 2024 season with the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix following.

Ferrari have done well in the previous triple header (Austin, Mexico City, and Sao Paulo), as Leclerc won the US Grand Prix with teammate Carlos Sainz finishing second.

Sainz won in Mexico City with Leclerc finishing third, but then Ferrari had a dismal weekend in Sao Paulo as Leclerc only managed a fifth place while Sainz crashed out in the wet conditions.

In 2023, Ferrari locked the front row for the starting grid on the Las Vegas Grand Prix with Leclerc on pole, while Sainz dropped ten places after a penalty he received following a change in power unit to a practice accident he suffered caused by a loose drain cover.

Leclerc finished the race second as Max Verstappen won while Sainz recovered to take sixth place.

When speaking to Sky Sports News, Leclerc was asked about his expectations for the upcoming F1 race in Las Vegas; he said: "I think on paper it's a track where we should perform well.

"However, the fact we have improved a lot with tyre management means on a track where it is so cold, it will be difficult to put the tyres in the right window.

"On paper, it still looks positive. Maybe not as positive as last year, but seeing how close everything is, I believe we will have a shot to win it," the Monegasque concluded.

Ferrari's 2023 F1 car managed to put its tyres in the proper operating window quite fast, which resulted in a qualifying advantage, but then suffered from excessive tyre degradation in races.

Ferrari's current single-seater, the SF-24, has been designed with better tyre degradation in race trim, so how will it perform this year in Vegas?