Ferrari and Mercedes forced into late Las Vegas GP change after protest from F1 rivals Red Bull

Ferrari and Mercedes have reportedly been forced to make a late change ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix after an apparent protest from Red Bull.

This weekend, Formula 1 will return with one of the biggest events on the sporting calendar, the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Heading into the race, reigning champion Max Verstappen knows that all he has to do is win and he will clinch his fourth F1 world title.

However, McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, as well as Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, will hope to spoil the party.

On Thursday, it was reported that the FIA have banned an 'illegal trick' after a protest from Red Bull.

As reported by Auto Motor und Sport, the FIA have banned the use of protective plates over skid blocks.

Teams have placed protection over their cars' skid blocks after both Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc were disqualified from the United States Grand Prix last year due to excessive wear.

In a bid to protect their skid blocks, several teams including Ferrari, Mercedes and Haas have been using insulating material between the floor plate and the screws to create a cushion.

However, that loophole has now been closed after an apparent protest from Red Bull.

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Speaking ahead of what could be a crowning moment, Verstappen said: "It looks a bit better now in the championship but we’ll see this weekend. We have good hopes to be competitive but I don’t know how competitive. I do feel that even in Brazil in the dry, we were quite decent finally again in race pace.

"This, of course, is a completely different track, completely different temperatures. I just hope that we can continue that momentum a little bit. There’s plenty to race for still – even in the constructors’ I think there is a chance so we’ll see what we can do."

He added: "I’m just looking forward to the weekend. Three races left, you’re getting close to the end of the season and it’s looking good in the championship but we still need to score a lot of points so we’ll just focus on that.

"Once we are doing that then you get closer to the end result. Of course, the target is to win the championship."