Image source, Getty Images

Max Verstappen, if he claims the crown tonight, will be joining a small group of four other drivers who have won four consecutive F1 championships.

Who already has their membership for this elite club? Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Juan Manuel Fangio and Sebastian Vettel during his days with Red Bull.

Ian Fergusson
BBC weather forecaster

It's warmer tonight with air temperature 18.2C and the track 18.6C. Windier conditions have been very noticeable today and in the past hour, the southerly wind has gusted to 32mph at the circuit.

Dry; FIA official risk of rain is 0%.

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Once the sun goes down in the Nevada desert in November it becomes very chilly, so the sight of Formula 1 drivers wrapped up in several layers has been common this weekend. The cooler conditions have also left many struggling to generate heat in those Pirelli soft tyres, which are the C3 hard, C4 medium and C5 soft.

For today's race, the skies are clear - so a low risk of rain - but the wind has picked up around Las Vegas.

Image source, Getty Images

American car maker General Motors is close to securing an entry to Formula 1 in 2026, senior sources say.

They will be a team owner and the 11th team on the grid.

Andretti's bid to seal a place on the grid this year was rejected by Formula 1, but owner Dan Towriss is working on the new entry.

Read the full story here.

Is this Boys II Men singing the national anthem? It is. No instruments needed to accompany this rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner.

Right, everyone off the grid. It's time to get down to business.

Martin Brundle's grid walk in Las Vegas should be paved with A-list celebrities - there are over 70 of them there - but the Sky Sports presenter is struggling to find anyone to talk to among the sea of faces. He does eventually chat to the Gladiator II cast, Olympic sprint champ Noah Lyles and Sylvester Stallone, who Martin says he spoke to on the grid back in the '90s.

He spies Franco Colapinto taking his place for the national anthem. "I'm a bit sore, but OK," says the Williams driver. "The boys did an amazing job to put the car on track today."

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

All Max Verstappen has to do is finish ahead of Lando Norris and he's starting alongside his championship rival.

Can Lando Norris get off the line better than Max Verstappen? He will be looking to brave it round the outside, possibly down the inside of Verstappen.

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The chances of a safety car popping up during the race are high, which means a topsy-turvy night on track could shake up the order greatly. But Max Verstappen has a few avenues he can take to win the title tonight.

Fastest lap comes into play this weekend. The Dutchman will be champion if he finishes third and takes the extra point for fastest lap and Norris is second. Same goes if Verstappen is fourth with the fastest lap and Briton Norris ends up on the podium in third.

If Norris is fourth, then Verstappen's fifth-place start will be enough to be crowned champion, as long as the McLaren driver doesn't take the fastest lap point. Same goes if Norris is fifth, sixth or seventh and Verstappen is one place behind. Keep that extra point away from Norris and the championship will be secured.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has called for Formula 1 to employ stewards full-time in order to simplify the rules.

He told BBC Sport that "we need to not over-regulate what happens on the track".

It comes after Lando Norris and Max Verstappen were penalised for separate incidents at both the United States and Mexico grands prix.

Read the full story here.

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

The times have been so close and it's been unpredictable, who would have thought coming here we would have a Mercedes a pole and an Alpine sitting in third place.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Las Vegas

Image source, EPA

Last year, Charles Leclerc would have won the race had it not been for an unfortunately timed safety car by running a long stint on the medium, which he was able to keep in good shape by under-driving it because he had a fast car. That could be the case today. Ferrari and Mercedes are always in the best shape when front tyre graining is an issue - as it is in Las Vegas - and Mercedes even more so than Ferrari. A pit stop costs about 21 seconds under green flag conditions, 11 under safety car.

More from George Russell, on if the Mercedes is a better race car than qualifying car, he told Sky Sports: "I don't really know because no one has ran that hard tyre. The medium is probably going to grain and that will be the same for everyone, safety cars, I don't really know.

"The Ferraris are a bit more slippery in the straights than we are but that may play against them if they are sliding more in the corners and they may grain the tyres more.

"I'm feeling good, I will try and go out there and drive as fast as I can."

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Pole sitter George Russell spoke to Sky Sports ahead of the race. On if Carlos Sainz sitting in P2 will be a threat, he said: "I mean definitely a threat, he was behind us all day and in Q2 he was second so they are not a million miles away.

"I think we hit the ground running this weekend really well and then everyone has been dropping their wing levels, the Ferraris are really quick in a straight line, that's probably going to be our biggest threat.

"I'm feeling good; the adrenaline takes over and starting from pole. We've only had a few opportunities this year and for me this is what racing is about, being in that fight and having that opportunity to go for victory.

"There are so many unknowns and I think the mediums at the beginning is going to be very very difficult."

Image source, Getty Images

The attention will be on Max Verstappen versus Lando Norris today, but the Friday night winner in Vegas was George Russell, who put his Mercedes on pole position ahead of the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly.

After instructing his team he wanted to be at the back for his final attempt - and a slight brush with the wall - the Briton secured his third pole of the season by 0.098 seconds.

Russell said he didn't expect to be in this position despite the Silver Arrows looking strong all weekend. "It feels incredible to be back on pole," he added.

His previous two poles this year ended without a win. While he did finish on the podium in Montreal in third place, his day on home soil at Silverstone was cut short because of a water system problem.

Image source, FIA

Franco Colapinto will start from the pit lane and Valtteri Bottas, who has a five-place grid penalty after Sauber exceeded the limit of power unit components and qualified in P19, actually just ends up starting in the same position.

All eyes on the third row for lights out as Max Verstappen and Lando Norris line up side by side. Pierre Gasly, an excellent third on the grid for Alpine, will have a Ferrari, a Red Bull and a McLaren chasing him down off the line.

Lewis Hamilton was downcast after his disappointing 10th place in the pole shootout. The seven-time world champion felt he had the pace to challenge for the top spot but his Q3 running was a let down.

Another Q1 elimination for Sergio Perez means the Red Bull driver will have to move through the pack from P15 to a) get in the points and b) be in the mix to potentially help out his title-chasing team-mate.

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Franco Colapinto has been passed to fit to race in Las Vegas today.

The Argentine suffered a 50G crash in Q2 yesterday which caused significant damage to his car when he clipped the inside of the wall and was sent smashing into the barriers on the other side of the track.

He signalled he was OK after the accident and after a thorough check, he's been given the all-clear to take part. "Franco’s health is our main priority, and we are relieved that he is well enough to race following such a significant incident," Williams said.

After big shunts for both drivers in Brazil, the mechanics have worked miracles to get Colapinto's car ready for the 50-lap grand prix. He will, however, start from the pit lane.

"We are extremely thankful to our incredible garage team for their hard work overnight," said Williams.

You've just about got time before the race start to have a listen to Rosanna Tennant, Harry Benjamin and Alice Powell review qualifying on the Chequered Flag podcast. They hear from the top three drivers as well as Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.

Hello, folks. Practically a lie-in for us all this morning. It's still Saturday night in Vegas and it's a big day over in Max Verstappen's side of the garage.

As long as he crosses the line after this 50-lap race with an advantage of at least 60 points over Lando Norris, the title will be his.

Lights out at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit are at 06:00 GMT.

Harry Benjamin, Alice Powell and Andrew Benson will be here to take us through the action. You can listen on BBC radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds, at the top of this page using the 'listen live' tab and via most smart speakers. Just ask BBC Sounds to play Las Vegas Grand Prix.

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Max Verstappen is on the cusp of becoming a four-time world champion - but he won't be starting his journey to greatness from pole position.

George Russell gets the best seat at the casino instead.

The Dutchman, top of the championship by 62 points, is starting in fifth place and will be sharing a row with nearest title rival Lando Norris, who lines up P6.

He only needs to finish ahead of the McLaren driver at the Las Vegas Grand Prix to be crowned champion once again.

Norris, meanwhile, needs a hefty dose of luck from a certain lady to keep his hopes of a maiden trophy alive. Outscore Verstappen by three points and the fight rolls on to Qatar. Simple as that.

The champagne is on ice for a potential title party in Vegas...