Verstappen wins fourth F1 world title in Las Vegas

Dutch driver Max Verstappen (Red Bull) was proclaimed Formula 1 world champion at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Although British driver George Russell (Williams) won the race, Veratappen won overall, with two races to go, his fourth consecutive title by finishing one place ahead (fifth) of his only rival for the crown, Lando Norris (McLaren), who finished sixth.

Following this result, Verstappen has a 63-point lead over Norris and can no longer be surpassed at the top of the standings. "My God, what a season. Four times, thank you guys," Verstappen told his team over the radio, as reported by AFP. "It was a bit more difficult than last year, but we came through."

Verstappen ties Vettel and Prost and is after Fangio, Hamilton and Schumacher’s records 

The Dutchman is the sixth driver in history to win at least four championships. Currently he is tied with German driver Sebastian Vettel and French driver Alain Prost, both also four-time champions. At just 27 years old, ”Mad Max” has plenty of time to match the five championships of the legendary Argentinean driver Juan Manuel Fangio and try to beat the record of seven titles shared by British driver Lewis Hamilton and the legendary German driver Michael Schumacher.

Spain’s Carlos Sainz managed to make it to the podium after finishing in third place. Meanwhile, Mexico's Sergio Perez finished tenth and Argentina's Franco Colapinto was fourteenth after starting from the pit lane due to the huge repairs his car needed after the heavy crash in qualifying.

Mercedes double, Verstappen and Hamilton on top of the podium

George Russell led the race from start to finish, securing his second victory of the season after starting from pole position. He capitalized on the Mercedes team's struggles with the track, which has been criticized for its lack of grip.

The comeback of the day was led by veteran Lewis Hamilton, who took the second place on the podium despite starting from tenth position. This was the best weekend of the season for Mercedes.

Too much Verstappen for Norris

With Russell's dominance uncontested, the attention shifted to the battle between Verstappen and Norris. For Norris to keep his championship hopes alive heading into the final two Grands Prix in December (Qatar and Abu Dhabi), he needed to finish ahead of Verstappen or ensure he didn't lose more than two points.

The Red Bull driver had just come from breaking in Brazil a ten-race winless streak that had allowed Norris to dream of overthrowing Verstappen’s winning streak since 2021. "If we'd had a better car at the start of the year, we would have been fighting with him a lot more, and he would have been under pressure a lot more than he ever has been," said Norris, who was nonetheless quick to congratulate the champion: "He's had almost no bad races all year. He just drove the way Max always does, which is in perfect form."

Stallone, Paris Hilton and Noah Lines in the crowd 

Familiar faces came out to watch the race, including Sylvester Stallone, Paris Hilton and U.S. track star Noah Lyles, a less luminous collection than last year's race, when Formula 1 made its return to Las Vegas after a four-decade absence.