Posted: November 24, 2024 09:53.
Last updated: November 24, 2024, 11:33 am.
George Russell led Mercedes to a one-two victory at the second Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday, but it was once again Max Verstappen's night. The 27-year-old Dutchman finished fifth and clinched his fourth consecutive F1 drivers' championship.
Max Verstappen celebrated his fourth consecutive F1 Drivers' Championship with his Red Bull teammates. (Image: X/F1)
This came as a surprise to no one, as Verstappen had already arrived in Las Vegas on the verge of victory. Thanks to his victory in the previous race in Brazil, he only needed to finish ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris. (Norris finished 6th.)
Verstappen is not him
With this, Verstappen becomes the sixth driver in F1 history to win the drivers' championship four times. His record is tied with Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel, with only Lewis Hamilton (seven), Michael Schumacher (seven) and Juan Manuel Fangio (five) ahead of them.
“Standing here as a four-time world champion is something I never thought would be possible,” Verstappen told actor Terry Crews, who hosted the press conference in front of the Bellagio grandstand. ” he said.
“It's been a very challenging season so I had to stay calm,” Verstappen said. “I think this season taught me a lot and we coped well as a team, so of course it became a very special and beautiful season.”
pole cat
Russell started the race from pole position thanks to setting the fastest qualifying time and never gave up despite a charge from teammate Hamilton. This victory is his third career win. (Earlier this year, he was disqualified from the Belgian Grand Prix after finishing first.)
Hamilton finished 7.3 seconds behind Russell, completing Mercedes' first one-two sweep since the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. was third, followed by teammate Charles Leclerc in fourth.
However, despite Verstappen and Russell's achievements, Red Bull Racing currently sit third in the constructors' championship standings with 555 points, behind McLaren on 608 and Ferrari on 584. Mercedes is in fourth place with 425 points.
There are only two races left in the season: the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on December 15th and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 22nd.
This is the second year for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which transforms the Las Vegas Strip and surrounding streets into a 4-mile racetrack. While this has provided economic benefits to some corporate-owned casinos, dozens of local businesses, including Ellis Island and other small casinos, will be cut off from regular customer access for months. , claims that total revenue will be reduced by millions of dollars.
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