George Russell wins Las Vegas GP; Max Verstappen crowned champion
Max Verstappen has won his fourth straight Formula 1 title after finishing fifth at the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix. He fended off Lando Norris of McLaren, who took sixth place. On the other hand, Mercedes sealed the top two places in the race. George Russell claimed victory with veteran Lewis Hamilton following suit. Scuderia Ferrari's Carlos Sainz took the third podium place.
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Verstappen makes records with 4th title win
A fourth consecutive crown for Verstappen sees him rub his shoulders with Michael Schumacher, Hamilton, Juan Manuel Fangio and Sebastian Vettel in this elite club of champions. Meanwhile, his fourth title win sees him equal Vettel and Alain Prost in terms of career honors (4). Juan Manuel Fangio (5) is ahead of Verstappen alongside joint-top winners Schumacher and Hamilton (7 each).
Key numbers for Russell and Hamilton
Russell claimed his 4th podium finish in the 2024 season. He also claimed his 2nd race win of the season following first place in Austria. Overall, he managed his 14th podium finish in F1. Meanwhile, Hamilton secured his 202nd podium finish. Meanwhile, this was his fifth podium this year. His last podium finish came at the Belgian GP where he secured top place.
8th podium finish of the year for Sainz
Sainz sealed his 8th podium finish of the year. Notably, this was his 3rd third-placed finish in a race this season. He owns 25 career podiums.
Las Vegas GP: Top 10 drivers
1, George Russell (Mercedes) 2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - champion 6. Lando Norris (McLaren) 7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 8. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) 9. Yuki Tsunoda (RB) 10. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
Proud Verstappen on winning his 4th title
"It's been a long season, we start off amazing and we were cruising but then we had a tough run as a team but we kept it together, we kept working on improvements and I couldn't be more proud of everyone what they have done for me," said Verstappen. Verstappen said being a four-time world champion is something he never thought was possible.
McLaren lead the 2024 Constructor Standings
McLaren lead the 2024 Constructor Standings, going past 600 points (608). However, Ferrari are on McLaren's toes, having raced to 584 points. Red Bull Racing are virtually out of the race for Constructor Standings. Red Bull have 555 points. McLaren saw Norris finish sixth with Oscar Piastri finishing 7th. Ferrari saw Charles Leclerc finish 4th behind teammate Sainz. Red Bull's Sergio Perez finished 10th.
A look at the Driver Standings
Verstappen now owns 406 points and is well above Norris (340 points). Leclerc remains third with 319 points up his sleeves. Piastri is 4th with 268 points. Sainz is catching up with 259 points secured.
Key highlights from the race
Norris took the fastest lap in the closing stages to give McLaren an extra point. Verstappen, who started the race in fifth place on the grid, remained ahead of his rival throughout a relatively quiet race. It was Russell who had the momentum from the beginning and he maintained the same. Verstappen's focus was to win the title and he did so with calmness.
Key details of Ferrari and Mercedes in the race
As mentioned, Russell controlled the race from the front. He fended off Leclerc, who jumped from fourth on the grid to second during the first two corners. Leclerc then suffered a blip as the Ferraris had tyre issues. However, they managed to finish within the top four. Hamilton was solid throughout and he maintained his tyres well to earn a podium place.
