Two winners with unique narratives in Sin City.
Max Verstappen successfully secured his fourth consecutive FIA Formula One World Drivers’ Championship title with a strategic fifth-place finish at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which was won decisively by George Russell. Lewis Hamilton achieved a second-place finish, contributing to a 1-2 result for Mercedes, while Carlos Sainz of Ferrari completed the podium in third place.
“What a season. Four times. Thank you, guys,” Verstappen said on the radio after crossing the line. “Thank you to everyone. I mean, it was a little bit more difficult than last year, but we pulled through and we gave it all.”
Verstappen, representing Red Bull, needed only to finish ahead of his sole remaining title competitor, Lando Norris, to clinch the championship. After initially defending against a challenge from Norris at the race’s start, Verstappen maintained a strong position, even moving up to second during the event. With Norris primarily in sixth place throughout the race, Verstappen was in a secure position, allowing him to settle into a fifth-place finish behind Hamilton, Sainz, and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari in the final stages.
“I was planning on flying in a couple of hours, but I’m definitely not getting on that flight,” Russell said. “And I’m going to enjoy this evening with all my team. It’s been a dream of a weekend. I don’t know how we’ve been so quick, but I’m just riding this wave right now.”
At the outset of the race, polesitter George Russell launched well to secure the lead; however, Charles Leclerc effectively reacted to the starting lights, maneuvering past third-place starter Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz as the field navigated Turn 1, elevating himself to P2.
“It’s been a long season,” Verstappen added. “Of course, we started off amazing. It was almost like cruising, but then we had a tough run. But as a team, we kept it together. We kept working on improvements. And yeah, we pulled over the line. I’m incredibly proud of everyone, what they have done for me. And to stand here as a four-time world champion is of course something that I never thought was possible. So yeah, at the moment, just feeling relieved in a way, but also very proud”.
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In the battle for positions, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris both started strongly from fifth and sixth, respectively. As they approached Turn 1, Norris positioned himself on the inside, but Verstappen maintained a wider line and ultimately emerged from Turn 2 in front.
By lap four, Verstappen had closed the gap to Gasly and, as they approached Turn 14, successfully overtook the French driver to secure fourth place. Ahead of them, Leclerc, who had been aggressively pursuing Russell, began to experience grip issues. After being overtaken by his teammate Sainz, Leclerc fell back towards Verstappen, who took advantage of the situation and moved past the Ferrari driver on lap 8 to claim a podium position. Meanwhile, Norris successfully passed Gasly to move into fifth place, although the gap to Verstappen continued to increase.
On lap 10, both Leclerc and Norris were called into the pits for fresh hard tyres. The following lap saw Sainz make a similar pit stop, but Verstappen had already progressed to second place by that time.
Verstappen subsequently completed his pit stop on lap 12, transitioning to hard tires. After a swift two-second stop, he rejoined the track in sixth place, amidst backmarking traffic, but notably ahead of both Ferraris and Norris.
As the Medium-tire starters entered the pit lane, Verstappen advanced to third place, positioned behind his teammate Sergio Pérez, who was utilizing Hard tyres. At the forefront, Russell was demonstrating impressive pace and managing the race effectively, ultimately assuming the lead.
Verstappen quickly surpassed Pérez, who subsequently began to lose ground before his own pit stop. On lap 28, Verstappen executed his second stop, switching to a fresh set of Hard tyres. Meanwhile, Sainz attempted to pit ahead of Hamilton, but Ferrari instructed him at the last moment to remain on the track. Sainz had already crossed the pit entry line, necessitating a swift maneuver to avoid leaving the track.
“I had fun coming from the back, coming from 10th and the team did a fantastic job,” Hamilton said. “We don’t know why we were so quick this weekend but that’s the nice. That’s the best the car has ever felt, so I’m grateful to have been a part of getting it to that point.”
The second round of pit stops commenced, and once the order settled, Russell maintained his lead, holding an 11-second advantage over his teammate Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen occupied third place, followed closely by Sainz, Leclerc, and Norris.
Hamilton exhibited remarkable speed as he began to close in on Verstappen. After easily overtaking the Dutch driver, who offered minimal resistance, the seven-time champion initiated his pursuit of Russell.
Russell, now in management mode, maintained control of the race despite Hamilton reducing the gap to five seconds at one point. Ultimately, after 50 laps, Russell crossed the finish line with a seven-second lead over Hamilton, securing his third career victory.
“I was expecting to be quite strong on this tyre, but I think it lasted something like eight, nine laps on me,” Sainz said. “And then from there onwards, it was just a damage limitation race. You know, I was not comfortable with the car, not strong today. I wish I would have been a bit quicker and would have been fighting with George for the win, but we just simply didn’t have it in ourselves today. So we came back with a P3, a podium that is not enough for what we expected, but the maximum that we could do today.”
Behind the Mercedes drivers, Verstappen tactically managed his position. With a comfortable lead of over twelve seconds ahead of sixth-placed Norris, he did not contest the advances of Sainz and Leclerc as they closed in. On lap 42, Verstappen allowed Sainz to pass, and five laps later, Leclerc followed suit, relegating the championship contender to fifth place.
Verstappen finished the race more than 24 seconds ahead of Norris, who had made a late pit stop for fresh tires to claim the point for the fastest lap, and in doing so, secured his fourth title.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix – Race
1 George Russell Mercedes 50 1:22’05.969
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 50 1:22’13.282 7.313
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 50 1:22’17.875 11.906
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 50 1:22’20.252 14.283
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 50 1:22’22.551 16.582
6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 50 1:22’49.354 43.385
7 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 50 1:22’57.334 51.365
8 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 50 1:23’05.777 59.808
9 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 50 1:23’08.777 1’02.808
10 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 50 1:23’09.083 1’03.114
11 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 50 1:23’15.164 1’09.195
12 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 50 1:23’15.772 1’09.803
13 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 50 1:23’20.054 1’14.085
14 Franco Colapinto Williams/Mercedes 50 1:23’21.141 1’15.172
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 50 1:23’30.071 1’24.102
16 Liam Lawson RB/Honda RBPT 50 1:23’36.974 1’31.00
17 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 49 1:22’08.029 1 lap /2.060
18 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 49 1:22’17.254 1 lap /11.285
Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 25 42’12.021 Power Unit
Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 15 25’36.973 Power Unit
Photo/GeorgeRussell/X