George Russell wins as Max Verstappen claims fourth F1 title in Las Vegas
George Russell leads Mercedes 1-2 as Max Verstappen clinches fourth world title in Las Vegas.
Max Verstappen clinched his fourth F1 world title as George Russell headed a Mercedes 1-2 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver was crowned world champion for the fourth time in a row by finishing fifth ahead of title rival Lando Norris, who needed to outscore Verstappen by three points to keep his slim championship hopes alive.
Russell breezed to a dominant victory, his second and Mercedes’ fourth of the season, ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton, who drove a superb race to rise from 10th on the grid and complete a first 1-2 for the Silver Arrows since the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
But the story of the night in Las Vegas belonged to Verstappen, who became just the sixth driver in F1 history to win the world championship four times - matching Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost’s tallies.
Outgoing Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz completed the podium in third place, with teammate Charles Leclerc passing Verstappen in the closing stages to snatch fourth.
Norris was sixth ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri as McLaren struggled for race pace, while Nico Hulkenberg picked up vital points for Haas in their bid to claim sixth place in the constructors’ championship with P8.
RB’s Yuki Tsunoda finished ninth, while the under-pressure Sergio Perez rounded out the top-10 to grab the final point on offer following a dreadful qualifying.
After his brilliant qualifying performance to take third on the grid, Pierre Gasly was forced to retire after just 16 laps when his Alpine developed an engine problem.
He was joined on the sidelines by Williams driver Alex Albon, who also retired with power unit problems.
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