There are those who believe that he is a sadist. Not because of his hobbies, which are very common among kids of his generation—basically simulators—but because of how he enjoys when things happen to him. An ice brick like him was never seen as happy as in achieving his first world champion title (2021), after that explosive duel with Lewis Hamilton that was not resolved until the last lap of the last stop of the calendar, by the work and grace of the International Automobile Federation (FIA). The two crowns he won later (2022 and 2023) were a walk in the park if we take into account that he took the roller to crush the competition, with 15 and 19 victories, respectively, of the 22 that were put into dispute in total. This season, the Dutchman’s rise is considerable, without reaching the values of his first winding, but far from the tedium that seemed to invade him in the celebration of the last two, certified with four (2022) and five mattress appointments (2023). The fourth, won this Saturday night in Las Vegas, comes after a course that started in style – four wins out of five and seven out of ten – but that.
Red Bull’s decline coincided with the revitalization of McLaren, embracing Lando Norris as a bid to fight Mad Max. The idea was good but Norris not so much, or, at least, not enough to last in the ring with Verstappen, who gave him a shake how and when he wanted, knocking his rival down in every way and leaving him groggy, lying on his back. the couch and with more doubts than certainties about his true potential. The opulent exhibition three weeks ago, in Brazil – he won under a downpour and after starting the 17th – cleared the way for him to chain his fourth World Cup in Las Vegas, in the outcome dreamed of by Liberty Media, the promoter of the contest, since it released the wallet to get it (2017).
In a race that twisted between casinos, held on an asphalt that destroyed the tires at the same speed as Norris’s resistance, Mercedes achieved its first double in two years. George Russell signed his second victory of this year, while Lewis Hamilton (second) got on the podium for the fifth time, in one of his last moments dressed in the star’s brand’s overalls – he came out tenth due to an error in the timed—, . There he will get into the car that Carlos Sainz is driving until December – the eighth of this 2024 -, who got back into the box and is closing his stage dressed in red in a big way. Verstappen, who only had to cross the finish line ahead of Norris to claim the alirón, finished fifth, one position ahead of the Briton (sixth), at all times in no man’s land, even forgotten by the achievement. Fernando Alonso found a way to recover from 16th place on the grid and finished eleventh.
In his most discreet year as champion, four-time champions like him, even though the German is their most recognizable reference. And not only because the titles of Baby Schumi They were also consecutive, like his, but because he signed them as the standard bearer of Red Bull. With the year of impasse that comes to us in 2025, the general feeling leads us to think that the brand of the red buffalo and its wonder boy will have an even harder time getting the poker.
