Max Verstappen clinched his fourth consecutive World Drivers’ Championship with a fifth-place finish at the Las Vegas Grand Prix late Saturday night, while George Russell led all 50 laps to complete a dream weekend for Mercedes.
Russell finished 7.093 ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton for his second Grand Prix victory of the season and the third of his career. Russell led by a wide margin for a majority of the race, but Hamilton was able to make a significant dent in that margin over the last 20 laps.
Mercedes ended the weekend having swept all three practice sessions, the pole, and the top two spots on the podium. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz rounded out the podium.
Verstappen finished Sunday’s Grand Prix a spot ahead of Lando Norris in sixth, which put him an insurmountable 64 points ahead of Norris in the title chase and allowed him to clinch the championship in the season’s 22nd Grand Prix.
Verstappen became the third driver to clinch the WDC in Las Vegas. He joins Nelson Piquet (1981) and Keke Rosberg (1982), who did so in the only two editions of the Caesars Palace Grand Prix.
Pierre Gasly suffered the first misfortune of the night as he lost his engine on the 16th lap. It was a heartbreaking end to a promising weekend for Gasly, who started third on the grid after a brilliant qualifying session in an attempt to reach the podium in a second consecutive Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Alex Albon was also forced to retire 10 laps later on lap 26, as a power unit issue ended a nightmarish weekend for Albon and Williams Racing that also saw Franco Colapinto suffer a hard crash in Friday’s qualifying session.
It was a rough night for McLaren, which lacked pace in both cars from the opening lap owing to a rear wing issue. It was a costly performance in terms of clinching the Constructors’ Championship, which will have to be decided in the final two races after Ferrari was able to get within 24 points.
Red Bull also made a dent in that margin and now sit within striking distance themselves, 53 points out going into Qatar.
–Field Level Media
