Dutch is the sixth driver in history to win at least four championships; with fifth place Max takes the title
The Dutchman (Red Bull) won this Sunday (24) its fourth consecutive title with fifth place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which ended with the victory of Briton George Russell (Mercedes). Verstappen, the sixth driver in history to win at least four championships, only needed to finish ahead of another Brit, Lando Norris (McLaren), who crossed the finish line in sixth. Lewis Hamilton came in second and completed the Mercedes one-two, with Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) completing the podium, in third. “My God, what a season. Four times, thanks guys,” Verstappen told the team over the radio. “It was a little more difficult than last year, but we were ahead.” With 60 points to play for, Verstappen, who now has a 63 lead over Norris, can no longer be caught at the top of the standings.
“Best wishes, he [Verstappen] deserves it”, acknowledged the McLaren rival. “He had almost no bad races all year. He just drove perfectly, as he always does”, he added. At 27 years old, Max Verstappen equals the four titles of the German Sebastian Vettell and the Frenchman Alain Proste and is only ahead of the Argentinean Juan Manuel Fangio (5 titles), the German Michael Schumacher (7 titles) and the British Lewis Hamilton (7 titles).
Dominant Mercedes
From his brilliant start, Russell controlled the race from start to finish until he sealed his second victory of the season. The Briton took pole position taking advantage of the Mercedes’ great adaptation to the circuit, which received criticism for its lack of grip. The one-two finish with Hamilton in second confirmed the German team’s best weekend of the season. With Russell’s undisputed dominance, attention turned to the dispute between Verstappen and Norris, who needed to finish ahead of the Dutchman or not be more than two points behind to keep his title chances alive before the last two stages of the season ( Qatar and Abu Dhabi).
Dispute with Norris
Norris took the lead, but lost positions before the 30th of the 50 laps of the race, allowing Verstappen to concentrate on avoiding overtaking him as he raced under the lights of the famous casino avenue and the futuristic The Sphere. The Red Bull driver was coming off an incredible victory at the Brazilian GP, after a series of ten races without winning, a moment that Norris took advantage of to enter the title race and break the Dutchman’s hegemony that has been going on since 2021. “If we had a car better at the start of the year, we would have fought him a lot more and he would have been under a lot more pressure than he already was”, lamented Norris. Familiar faces were present to watch the race in the casino city, such as actor Syvester Stallone, socialite Paris Hilton and American track and field star Noah Lyles.
The next stage of the Formula 1 World Championship will be at the Qatar GP, in a week.
Check out the classification of the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix:
1. George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 1h22:05.969
2. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) +7.313
3. Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari) +11,906
4. Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) +14.283
5. Max Verstappen (HOL/Red Bull) +16.582
6. Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) +43.385
7. Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren-Mercedes) +51,365
8. Nico Hülkenberg (ALE/Haas-Ferrari) +59.808
9. Yuki Tsunoda (JAP/Racing Bulls-Red Bull) +1:02.808
10. Sergio Pérez (MEX/Red Bull) +1:03.114
11. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin-Mercedes) +1:09.195
12. Kevin Magnussen (DIN/Haas-Ferrari) +1:09.803
13. Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Sauber-Ferrari) +1:14.085
14. Franco Colapinto (ARG/Williams-Mercedes) +1:15.172
15. Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin-Mercedes) +1:24.102
16. Liam Lawson (NZL/Racing Bulls-Red Bull) +1:31.005
17. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine-Renault) +1 volt
18. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Sauber-Ferrari) +1 volta
Fastest lap: Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:34.876 on the 49th lap (average speed: 227.779 km/h)
Abandons:
Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine-Renault): motor 16ª volta
Alexander Albon (THA/Williams-Mercedes): motor 26ª volta
— Formula 1 World Championship 2024 classification:
. Drivers’ Championship:
1. Max Verstappen (HOL) 403 pts
2. Lando Norris (GBR) 340
3. Charles Leclerc (MON) 319
4. Oscar Piastri (AUS) 268
5. Carlos Sainz (ESP) 259
6. George Russell (GBR) 217
7. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) 208
8. Sergio Pérez (MEX) 152
9. Fernando Alonso (ESP) 62
10. Nico Hülkenberg (ALE) 35
11. Yuki Tsunoda (JAP) 30
12. Pierre Gasly (FRA) 26
13. Lance Stroll (CAN) 24
14. Esteban Ocon (FRA) 23
15. Kevin Magnussen (DIN) 14
16. Alexander Albon (TAI) 12
17. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) 12
18. Oliver Bearman (GBR) 7
19. Franco Colapinto (ARG) 5
20. Liam Lawson (NZL) 4
21. Zhou Guanyu (CHN) 0
22. Logan Sargeant (USA) 0
23. Valtteri Bottas (FIN) 0
. Constructors’ Championship:
1. McLaren-Mercedes 608 pts
2. Ferrari 584
3. Red Bull 555
4. Mercedes 425
5. Aston Martin-Mercedes 86
6. Haas-Ferrari 50
7. Alpine-Renault 49
8. Racing Bulls-Red Bull 46
9. Williams-Mercedes 17
10. Sauber-Ferrari 0
*With information from AFP
Published by Victor Trovão
