Max Verstappen was under even more pressure than before the season, but under the bright lights of Sin City on Saturday night, Verstappen clinched his fourth consecutive F1 drivers' championship.
Verstappen enters this week with multiple paths to his fourth consecutive title, while Lando Norris faces a narrow path to keeping his championship hopes alive. Verstappen ticked the first item on his to-do list on Friday night, qualifying for Saturday night's Las Vegas Grand Prix just ahead of Norris. The two started side by side on the third row, with Norris in sixth and Verstappen a little further ahead in fifth.
This meant the title fight could be decided at Turn 1 on Saturday night, with Verstappen maintaining his advantage over Norris and slowly pulling away from the McLaren driver. After the pit stop in the second round, he moved up to third place, but was unable to reach the podium. Under pressure from Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. to aim for the final podium spot, Verstappen eventually dropped back to fifth place, content to finish ahead of Norris and claim his fourth title.
Norris finished sixth, pitting late in the race and setting the fastest lap of the race on soft tires, earning him bonus points.
At the front, George Russell showed off an overwhelming wire-to-wire performance, taking victory from pole position and earning his second win of the season. Teammate Lewis Hamilton, who had started 10th, raced back to finish second, capping off a dominant week for Mercedes in Las Vegas.
The Ferrari duo of Sainz and Leclerc finished third and fourth respectively.
But the story was Verstappen. Although he wasn't as dominant as he was a season ago, he might have been just as impressive throughout 2024. Although the RB20 was not a premium package like its predecessor, Verstappen's consistency kept him in contention in the first week. On Saturday night, he was a champion.
“Well, it's been a long season. And of course we had a great start. It was almost cruising and then it was a tough run. But as a team we stayed together,” Verstappen said. told Terry Crews and Jenson Button trackside. “We continued to work on improving, and yes, we crossed the line. I mean, I'm incredibly proud of what they did for me. And, yes, I'm incredibly proud of what they did for me. Of course, I never thought it would be possible for me to stand here as a champion. Well, in a way I'm relieved now, but I'm also very proud.”
With this title, Verstappen joins Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel on the list of all-time drivers' champions. Only Juan Manuel Fangio (five), Michael Schumacher (seven) and Lewis Hamilton (seven) have won more driver's titles.
Verstappen admitted winning a fourth title was not what he had dreamed of at the start of his F1 career.
“Absolutely not. I was really happy to be there and dream of the possibility of winning and being on the podium, which is already a normal thing that is very difficult to achieve,” Verstappen said. spoke. “And then, of course, we hit the ground running after a tough few years of trying. And we really started with a new concept and, like I said, four I'm standing here as a world champion.''It's incredible to be a champion.''
Full results for the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix are below.
The grid will move to Qatar for next weekend's Qatar Grand Prix. The driver's title has been decided, but Race for the constructors' championship It remains tight. On Saturday night, McLaren's lead over Ferrari had narrowed to 24 points, but Red Bull still held a 53-point lead over McLaren.
