Verstappen lights up Las Vegas with fourth F1 title

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen lit up the Las Vegas night after securing his fourth Formula One title in a row on Saturday in a race won by George Russell in a Mercedes one-two with Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen finished where he started in fifth but that was all the Dutch driver needed to put the championship, already effectively over, out of reach of McLaren rival Lando Norris with two rounds to spare.
Norris took the chequered flag in sixth, also where he started, making a late pitstop for fresh tyres to secure a bonus point for fastest lap that still left him an insurmountable 63 points adrift.
“What a season. Four times. Thank you guys. Thank you to everyone,” Verstappen said over the radio after being congratulated by team boss Christian Horner.
“It was a little bit more difficult than last year but we pulled through and we gave it all.”
Norris was quick to recognise his rival’s achievement: “As much as it hurts a little bit, saying congrats doesn’t hurt,” he said.
“He drove an incredible season and when you have the quickest car he dominated and when he didn’t he was still there and always on my heels. He made my life tough, we made his tough at times I’m sure, but he drove a better season.”
Russell led away cleanly from pole position, fending off Leclerc who surged from fourth to second at the start, and was never troubled as Hamilton charged back from 10th on the grid on a cold desert night.
“I was planning on flying in a couple of hours but I’m definitely not getting on that flight,” said the race winner. “I will enjoy this evening with all my team.
“It’s been a dream of a weekend. I don’t know how I’ve been so quick but I’m just enjoying this ride right now.”
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was third with team mate Charles Leclerc unhappy in fourth, after suffering early tyre trouble, as the Italian team cut the gap in the constructors’ standings to McLaren to 24 points.
Oscar Piastri was seventh for McLaren, despite collecting a five second penalty for a false start, and Nico Hulkenberg was eighth for US-owned Haas.
Yuki Tsunoda took points for RB in ninth and Verstappen’s struggling team mate Sergio Perez got himself back on the scoreboard in 10th. The midfield battle grew even more intense, with Renault-owned Alpine drawing a blank after the excitement of Pierre Gasly starting third.
Gasly’s engine expired on lap 15 and Alpine dropped back from sixth to seventh in the standings, a point behind US-owned Haas.
As fireworks lit up the skyline and the Bellagio hotel fountains played, Verstappen prepared to celebrate long into the night.
“To stand here as a four-time world champion is of course something that I never thought was possible. So, at the moment I’m just feeling relieved, in a way, but also very proud,” he said.
Only six drivers have won four titles and Verstappen is one of just two, with Sebastian Vettel, to have taken his first four consecutively.
Only Britain’s Hamilton, Germany’s Michael Schumacher (seven each) and the late Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio (five) have won more. Frenchman Alain Prost also won four.
“He’s been in a class of his own this year. He’s been absolutely outstanding,” said Horner.
“He’s won eight Grands Prix, more than double anyone else on the grid.
“He kept overdelivering, kept getting the results and performances. He deserves this fourth world championship. It puts him among the elite of the sport.”