Max Verstappen crosses the line at P5, crucially ahead of rival Lando Norris and the Red Bull star has won his 4th World Driver’s Championship in Formula 1.
Max Verstappen sealed his fourth-straight Formula 1 World Driver’s Championship after finishing P5 in the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, a race which was won by Mercedes’ George Russell from pole under the lights on Sunday (PHL).
Verstappen, who was coming off of a pivotal win in Brazil last time out, finished ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris to officially clinch the WDC with two races to go in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Though Mercedes finished with a 1-2 with 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton coming in at second, Verstappen and Red Bull were more than satisfied with the big picture as they locked up one of the two world titles at stake.
Russell started from pole to clinch his second official win this season after being disqualified from Belgium earlier this year.
The night race featured many overtake battles, including some pivotal ones where Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren jockeyed for position for the Constructors' championship.
But Mercedes were the biggest gainers with the 1-2 finish, ahead of Ferrari’s 3-4 haul with Carlos Sainz and Charles LeClerc finishing third and fourth, respectively.
It was a convincing win for Russell, who was more than seven seconds ahead of his teammate.
Norris, who finished one place ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri for P6, was almost 30 seconds behind Verstappen. Entering the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Norris needed to outscore Verstappen by at least three points to keep the title fight alive.
That was obviously not the case, as Verstappen finishing ahead was more than enough to clinch the Red Bull star's fourth World Championship to continue cementing his legacy. With two races left, Verstappen (403) is 63 points ahead of Norris (340).
Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg, RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez rounded up the point scorers in Las Vegas.