F1 Today | Piastri sidelined for Abu Dhabi, as rain triggers flood watch in Las Vegas

21:48, 19 Nov

1 Comments

byNorberto Mujica

The F1 news mill has died down for today 19 November, and GPblog brings you the best stories in its daily round-up.

Photo: RacePictures.

McLaren benches Piastri for Abu Dhabi

Every driver who started the season with more than two Grands Prix to their name has to yield their drive to a rookie in two Practice sessions.

Piastri has only done so once, and with McLaren confirming Piastri will be in action in FP1 in Las Vegas, and with the Qatar Grand Prix being a sprint weekend - meaning only one practice session will take place - the most logical place to let a rookie take over is therefore the final race of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The timing for the switch is not ideal, since Piastri is currently trying to catch up to teammate Lando Norris in the championship whom he trails by 24 points. While he is sitting on the pitwall watching likely rookie to take over Pato O'Ward making miles, Norris will be able to work on the setup of his MCL39.

Rain triggers flood watch in the Las Vegas Valley

Las Vegas faces a flood watch through at least Wednesday due to expected heavy rain, despite the amount of precipitation being lower than the Nevada city's average for the month of November.

Although conditions are expected to improve further into the weekend, rain still poses a threat, albeit a mild one, in the early sessions of the event. Read the updated weather forecast here.

GPblog's latest F1 Paddock Update

Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog's F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog's YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.

<iframe data-testid="embed-iframe" style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/5EOUiXt96fp6zp8GFhkxJq/video?utm_source=generator" width="624" height="351" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>