© Getty ImagesMax wins the 2024 World Drivers’ Championship - Race ReportUnder the glittering lights of Las Vegas, Max Verstappen hit the ultimate F1 jackpot
MaxsealedhisfourthconsecutiveFormula1WorldChampionshiptitlewithameasureddrivetofifthplacethatputtheDutchmanbeyondthereachofhissoleremainingrival,LandoNorris,andalsointoaneliteclubofjustsixdriverstoclaimfourormoreworldcrowns.
The Dutchman ranks alongside legends such as Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost, and Sebastian Vettel as a true great.
Going into the race, Max only needed to finish ahead of Norris, and after fending off the McLaren driver at the start, Max settled into a controlled drive that saw him rise to as high as second before he hit management mode in the closing stages as he backed out of fights with Lewis Hamilton and the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc to take the flag and the title, 26 seconds clear of Norris.
Max Verstappen, you are a four-time world champion. That is a phenomenal, phenomenal achievement!
“What a season. Four times. Thank you, guys,” Max responded. “Thank you to everyone. I mean, it was a little bit more difficult than last year, but we pulled through, and we gave it all.”
Max sealed his fourth consecutive Formula 1 World Championship title© Getty Images
I’m incredibly proud of everyone, what they have done for me. And to stand here as a four-time world champion is, of course, something that I never thought was possible.
At the start, polesitter George Russell got away well to take the lead, but it was Charles Leclerc who reacted best to the lights, and as the field went through Turn 1, the Monegasque driver powered past Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz to take P2.
Behind the top four, Max and title rival Lando Norris got away well from fifth and sixth, but going into Turn 1, Norris drew alongside on the inside. Max braked later, however, and, maintaining control on the slippery surface, the championship leader held a wide line and then slammed the door shut to stay ahead of the McLaren driver. Further back, Checo, starting from 15th on hard tyres, lost ground at the start, but he soon recovered and began to make his way through the pack.
Max was also making moves, and on lap four, the Dutchman closed right up to Gasly, and on the way into Turn 14, he muscled his way past the Frenchman to take fourth place.
Further ahead, Leclerc, who had been pushing hard to get past Russell, began to struggle for grip, and after being passed by teammate Sainz, the Monegasque fell back towards Max.
The champion smelled blood, and on lap 8 he roared past the Ferrari driver to claim P3. Behind him, Norris made his way past Gasly to take fifth place.
On lap 10, both Leclerc and Norris were called to the pits for fresh tyres and both took on hard tyres. On the following lap, Sainz was also called in, but Max was in no mood to wait, and once again the Dutchman closed in on Las Vegas Boulevard, and he breezed past the Spaniard to take second place.
Max made his own pit stop on lap 12, and after bolting on a set of hard tyres in just two seconds, he rejoined in sixth place, in back-marking traffic, but crucially ahead of both Ferraris and ahead of Norris.
As the medium-tyre starters began to flood into pit lane, Checo, still on his starting hard tyres, roared up the order, and by lap 14 the Mexican had jumped up to second place, five seconds behind Russell, who had made his pit stop.
As the flurry of stops played out, Max rose again, to third place, just over a second behind Checo and two seconds clear of the twin Ferraris. The Minister was quick to react, and he soon moved over to allow Max to ease past to reclaim second.
With his tyres beginning to fade badly, Checo made his first stop on lap 18, and after he took on a set of medium tyres he dropped back to 14th, six seconds behind VCARB’s Liam Lawson. It took the Red Bull driver just seven laps to eat through that deficit, and on lap 25 he powered past Lawson to rise to 12th. And when Oscar Piastri pitted for fresh tyres and Alex Albon headed in to retire his overheating Williams, the Mexican rose to 10th.
Max made his second stop on lap 28, taking on a second set of hard tyres. Behind the champion, Sainz shaped to pit ahead of Hamilton, but at the last second Ferrari told him to stay out. The Spaniard was already across the white line of the pit entry, and he had to swerve right to stay on track.
The second round of stops then began to play out, and when the order shook out once again, Russell still led, 11 seconds clear of hard-charging teammate Lewis Hamilton, with Max in third ahead of Sainz, Leclerc, and Norris.
Checo, meanwhile, had made his final stop of the race, and after dropping back to 15th, he once again began to haul his way forward, and on lap 38 he executed what was undoubtedly the move of the race. Ahead of him, Kevin Magnussen and Liam Lawson were battling. The squabbling pair left the door open, and Checo pounced, passing both into Turn 14 to take P12 with a hugely brave move. He would eventually make his way to P10 at the flag.
Further ahead, Max was in management mode. With a dozen seconds in hand over sixth-placed Norris, the Dutchman didn’t resist when the Ferrari pair began to put pressure on him. On lap 42 he allowed Sainz to ease through, and five laps later, Leclerc made his way past to drop the champion elect to fifth place, almost 10 seconds ahead of Norris.
“It's been a long season,” Max reflected afterwards. “Of course, we started off amazing. It was almost like cruising, but then we had a tough run. But as a team, we kept it together. We kept working on improvements. And yeah, we pulled over the line. I’m incredibly proud of everyone, what they have done for me. And to stand here as a four-time world champion is, of course, something that I never thought was possible. So yeah, at the moment, just feeling relieved in a way, but also very proud”.
