Max Verstappen secured his fourth World Championship title with a controlled fifth-place finish at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, while George Russell and Lewis Hamilton claimed the top two positions for Mercedes. Behind them, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finished third and fourth for Ferrari. The 27-year-old Dutchman now has an insurmountable 63-point lead heading into the final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. This fourth title ties him with Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost in the all-time standings. Only Juan Manuel Fangio (5) and Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher (7) have won more.
Verstappen entered the 50-lap race knowing that he only needed to keep Lando Norris, his championship rival, behind him to secure the title, which he successfully did, maintaining his position at the start and gradually pulling away from the McLaren driver.
Verstappen, who held a podium position after the second round of pit stops, decided not to fight when the Ferrari cars of Sainz and Leclerc closed in during the final laps, both finding a way past him before the checkered flag.
Russell expertly managed the challenging race in cold and slippery conditions, keeping the fast-starting Leclerc in check in the early laps – a move that ultimately led to tire problems for the Ferrari driver – and then controlled the pace of the race.
Hamilton recovered from a difficult qualifying session, which saw him start in 10th place, and fought his way through the field, supporting his teammate Russell, whose victory marked Mercedes' first triumph since the Belgian Grand Prix in July.
Norris successfully challenged for the fastest lap in the closing moments, finishing sixth and mathematically eliminating himself from the championship battle, while his teammate, Oscar Piastri, finished seventh after a time penalty for a jump start.
Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg overtook Yuki Tsunoda of RB at the end of the race, which could be crucial in the tight battle for sixth place in the constructors' championship, especially after Pierre Gasly, who started from the second row, retired due to technical problems with his Alpine.
Sergio Perez added a point for Red Bull in 10th place, denying Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, and Kevin Magnussen of Haas finished 12th with one pit stop ahead of Zhou Guanyu of Kick Sauber and Williams driver Franco Colapinto, who started from the pit lane after a terrifying crash in qualifying.
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Liam Lawson (RB), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), and Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber) finished after Alex Albon became the second Williams driver to retire due to his own technical issues.
"It's been a long season, and of course, we started incredibly well, almost like we were cruising, but then we had a tough time – but as a team, we stuck together, we worked on improvements, and we managed to win. I'm incredibly proud of everyone who has done this for me, and to be standing here as a four-time World Champion is something I never thought would be possible," said Verstappen.
How it happened
At the end of a thrilling qualifying session under the Las Vegas lights, Russell capitalized on Mercedes' strong race pace to secure pole position, breaking McLaren and Ferrari's streak of starting first, which had lasted since the British Grand Prix in July.
Sainz became his closest rival, ahead of Gasly and Leclerc, while Verstappen and Norris, who are competing for the championship, were tied for third on the starting grid - the Red Bull driver knew that finishing ahead of them would secure him a fourth consecutive world championship title.
There were several changes on the starting grid before the race, as Bottas dropped down the order due to a new power unit, and Colapinto headed to the pit lane from P14 due to extensive repairs needed after a major qualifying incident.
When the tire blankets were removed from the cars, it was revealed that most of the drivers would be starting on medium Pirelli tires, with Perez, Bottas, and Colapinto opting for hard tires, and Alonso choosing to run aggressively on soft tires.
A few moments later, it was time for the main event - the 50-lap Las Vegas Grand Prix. As the lights went out, Russell, who had pole position, got a clean start and maintained his lead into the first corner, while Leclerc moved from P4 to P2, avoiding Gasly and Sainz in turns 1 and 2.
Right behind them, Verstappen and Norris increased the pressure on Red Bull and McLaren, running wheel-to-wheel in the first sector and remaining in P5 and P6 ahead of Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Piastri, and Hamilton, while Lawson and Magnussen were engaged in a close battle in the midfield.
In lap 4, Leclerc closed the gap to Russell and was poised to attempt an overtake into turn 14, where Verstappen overtook Gasly to move into P4, and the Mercedes driver was then forced to defend into turn 1 in the early stages of lap 5 to keep the Ferrari behind him.
Alonso gained several positions in the opening laps, but his aggressive strategy seemed to backfire when he made an early pit stop to change from soft to medium tires, but Piastri had a bigger problem, as he was given a five-second penalty for an incorrect starting position.
After such a strong start to the race, Leclerc's pace dramatically dropped, and Sainz and Verstappen quickly overtook him. Meanwhile, Hamilton closed the gap to Piastri in eighth place, and Norris found a way past Gasly to move into P5.
Just 10 laps into the race, Leclerc pitted to change his troublesome medium tires for a set of hard tires, along with Norris. One lap later, Sainz, Gasly, Tsunoda, and Piastri did the same, leaving Russell and Verstappen at the front, with Hamilton promoted to third place.
In lap 12, Verstappen switched to hard tires and rejoined the race in the middle of the pack, but significantly ahead of both Ferraris and his championship rival Norris, and in lap 13, Russell, who was leading, visited the pit lane, allowing Hamilton, Perez, and Hulkenberg, who had not yet stopped, to move up.
A few laps later, as the rest of the drivers at the front of the race pitted, Russell returned to the lead ahead of Verstappen, Sainz, Leclerc, and Norris. Hamilton was now behind this group and was subject to strategic considerations, but he was told that staying out longer would cause him to drop back another five positions.
Then, disaster struck for Gasly, who radioed in "no power," as smoke was seen coming from the rear of his car. After such a promising start from P3, the Frenchman was forced to retire to the pit lane and park in front of the Alpine garage, dealing a blow to the team's championship aspirations.
Hamilton, with fresh tires and a slight advantage, shone on the leaderboard, quickly closing the gap to Norris and easily overtaking him to take the lead, with his next target a few seconds further ahead being his future teammate at Ferrari, Leclerc, whose early pit stop limited the damage caused by his declining pace.
As the race approached the halfway point, Russell was approximately 10 seconds ahead of Verstappen, followed by Ferrari and Hamilton, who commented that "these guys are fast on the straights." Norris remained in sixth place, with Tsunoda, Piastri, Hulkenberg, and the recovering Albon holding the last points-scoring positions.
Ocon and Alonso quickly confirmed what everyone expected from the early stages of the race, as they made their second pit stops – the latter's hard tires lasted only 20 laps. However, Albon's subsequent stop was his last, as Williams instructed him to park the car with a technical issue.
Verstappen and Hamilton were the first of the leading drivers to pit for fresh hard tires in lap 28, while Sainz also appeared determined to stop, only to be told at the last moment to stay out and rejoin the track. "Come on, guys!" Sainz exclaimed before heading into the pit lane for another lap.
Norris, Leclerc, and Russell pitted during the following laps, as the earlier race leaders, Hamilton and Verstappen, closed the gap on track – the seven-time world champion closed the gap on the driver chasing his fourth title with a DRS-assisted overtake on the back straight.
"Max, just keep our goal in mind today," Verstappen's engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, commented in what seemed to be a delayed radio message. "Yeah, I'm doing my own race," the Dutchman replied, seemingly unfazed.
Further back, the stewards noted an incident between Lawson and Ocon in the third corner, with the latter reporting his frustration over some contact via radio, but no further investigation or penalties were issued by the race officials.
After these tire changes, the pre-race prediction by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff came to fruition, as Russell and Hamilton were now running in tandem ahead of Verstappen, Ferrari (Leclerc had returned from a late stop ahead of Sainz, but was then overtaken), and Norris.
Hamilton's charge continued in the following laps, as he repeatedly shaved off tenths of a second from his teammate Russell's lead, prompting the latter to improve his pace, while Verstappen found himself in the clutches of Ferrari and asked Red Bull if they wanted him to defend.
In the second Red Bull, Perez caused a stir with a double overtake on Magnussen and Lawson in the 14th corner, with all three narrowly avoiding a collision, before the Mexican cleared Ocon and moved into contention for points – P10 is now held by Alonso.
Following Verstappen's radio message, a relatively cautious approach followed, as Sainz and Leclerc continued to close the gap, with the former eventually finding a way past, and the latter finally getting ahead in lap 47 after several laps spent behind the Red Bull.
Against the backdrop of Hamilton's electric pace, which stabilized the gap between the pair at approximately five seconds, Russell's engineer gave him another instruction to push, and the younger Brit ultimately delivered, adding another victory to the one he achieved earlier this season in Austria.
Sainz, Leclerc, and Verstappen also maintained their positions in P3, P4, and P5, while Norris took advantage of the opportunity to pit for soft tires and secure a bonus point for the fastest lap – he had a sufficient margin over his teammate Piastri.
Hulkenberg overtook Tsunoda in a late move to finish eighth, helping the Haas team secure P6 in the constructors' championship, while Perez salvaged a single point from another difficult weekend, thanks to overtaking two cars and a crucial intervention by Alonso. Magnussen couldn't quite match his teammate Hulkenberg, who was the only driver to make just one pit stop, finishing in P12 ahead of Zhou and Colapinto, who at least managed to get the Williams to the finish line after Colapinto's qualifying accident and Albon's retirement. Stroll finished fifteenth, ahead of the battling Lawson and Ocon (who also made a late pit stop for soft tires), and Bottas crossed the finish line last, with Albon and Gasly watching from the sidelines after their technical issues. Then came a spectacular celebration as midnight approached on the Las Vegas Strip – Russell, Hamilton, and Sainz enjoyed the ceremony on the podium, while Verstappen began to realize the magnitude of what he had achieved as a four-time champion. [Twitter embed] Results: | Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 50 | 1:22:05.969 | 25 | | 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 50 | +7.313s | 18 | | 3 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 50 | +11.906s | 15 | | 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 50 | +14.283s | 12 | | 5 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 50 | +16.582s | 10 | | 6 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 50 | +43.385s | 9 | | 7 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 50 | +51.365s | 6 | | 8 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | 50 | +59.808s | 4 | | 9 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT | 50 | +62.808s | 2 | | 10 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 50 | +63.114s | 1 | | 11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 50 | +69.195s | 0 | | 12 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 50 | +69.803s | 0 | | 13 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 50 | +74.085s | 0 | | 14 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Williams Mercedes | 50 | +75.172s | 0 | | 15 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 50 | +84.102s | 0 | | 16 | 30 | Liam Lawson | RB Honda RBPT | 50 | +91.005s | 0 | | 17 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 49 | +1 lap | 0 | | 18 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 49 | +1 lap | 0 | | NC | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 25 | DNF | 0 | | NC | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 15 | DNF | 0 |```htmlF1 / gnews - RoZ
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