After a couple of dominant seasons by Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing, the 2024 F1 standings are more tightly bunched and the Formula 1 season will resume this weekend with one of its grandest spectacles. The 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix will take place on Saturday on The Strip and will begin at 10 p.m. local time (1 a.m. ET) to take advantage of the dazzling lights. Verstappen won the first ever Las Vegas Grand Prix, besting Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in second and teammate Sergio Perez in third by just over two seconds.

However, this has been a far more challenging season for Verstappen and he's the fourth-favorite at +550 in the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix odds, behind favorite Carlos Sainz (+230), Charles Leclerc (+275) and George Russell (+333). Lando Norris (+900) rounds out the top five in the F1 odds. 

SportsLine's proven computer projection model simulated the Las Vegas GP 2024 10,000 times and come up with a surprising leaderboard.

Developed by daily Fantasy pro and SportsLine predictive data engineer Mike McClure, this proprietary Formula 1 prediction model takes into account a slew of factors including track history and recent results.

The model has been scorching hot when it comes to picking Formula 1 race events dating back to 2021. It nailed both of Charles Leclerc's wins in 2022, and at the 2021 Mexican Grand Prix, the model was strongly backing Verstappen as its top pick. The result: Verstappen dominated the field and ran away with a surprising victory. 

It followed that up by calling Verstappen's win at the Rolex Emilia Romagna GP in April and nailed Verstappen to win in Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan, the United States, Mexico and Abu Dhabi. It also called all 19 of Verstappen's wins during the 2023 season and nailed each of his first seven wins in 2024 while also nailing Norris as a +200 winner in the Netherlands and then again as a +190 winner in Singapore! 

It also called Alex Albon to finish in a points position for a plus-money payout before he went on to finish seventh in Azerbaijan, nailed a double podium for McLaren for a plus-money payout in Singapore and then called a Verstappen podium at +175 in Brazil. Anyone who followed the model's lead on those plays has seen HUGE returns!

The Las Vegas Strip Circuit is a street course that winds passed some of the most prominent landmarks in Sin City, including the Sphere, Caesars Palace and the fountain at Bellagio. It's a 3.853-mile track with 17 corners that features a straightaway on Las Vegas Boulevard where speeds exceed 200 mph. Verstappen won the first-ever Las Vegas Grand Prix last year but Piastri set the track record with a 1:35.490 during the race.

Now, the model has dialed in on the 2024 Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix and just released its coveted picks and leaderboard projections. 

We can tell you the model is predicting a points finish for Esteban Ocon that would pay out +100. The 28-year-old French driver is coming off his fourth career podium finish, earning a second-place finish in Brazil three weeks ago before the break with his Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly coming in third for a double podium.

The performance vaulted Alpine from eighth in the constructors' standings to sixth and Ocon jumped from 19th in the drivers' standings to 14th. Ocon was a winner in Hungary in 2021 and he now has five points finishes (top 10) on the season. At the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix, he finished a season-high fourth.

The model has also made its win prediction and is also targeting one significant underdog to make a charge up the leaderboard! Anyone who backs this driver could hit it BIG. You ABSOLUTELY need to see who he is before locking in any Formula 1 Las Vegas GP picks of your own.

So who wins the 2024 Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, and which SERIOUS longshot could be in contention? ... Join SportsLine right now to see the full projected Las Vegas GP leaderboard, all from the model that 26 of Verstappen's 27 wins since last season and called Norris' wins in the Dutch Grand Prix and Singapore Grand Prix!