Max Verstappen wins fourth F1 world title in Las Vegas - ESPN
Nate Saunders, General Editor, F1Nov 24, 2024, 02:29 AM ET
Max Verstappen won his fourth straight championship at the Las Vegas Grand Prix as he finished fifth, ahead of title rival Lando Norris on Saturday.
The result gave Verstappen, 27, an unassailable lead of 63 points over McLaren's Norris with two races to spare.
Mercedes won the race with a one-two led by George Russell.
Verstappen said afterwards: "It's been a long season and we started off amazing. It was almost cruising, then we had a tough run. But as a team, we kept it together, we kept working on improvements.
"I'm incredibly proud of everyone of what they've done for me and to stand here as a four-time world champion is something I never thought was possible, so at the moment I'm feeling relieved in a way, but also very proud."
On the challenges this season he said: "As a person at times it's very challenging and I had to be calm. In a way -- I still prefer last season, I enjoyed that a lot -- but I think this season taught me a lot of lessons that I'm proud of and we had as a team so it makes it very special and a beautiful season."
Verstappen has now moved into elite company, joining Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton as a driver with four championships.
Verstappen, 27, has won his four consecutively -- something all but Prost managed within that club.
Verstappen won seven of the first 10 races this season, but a midseason drop in form for Red Bull coincided with the opposite for McLaren, who have claimed five victories since Norris' maiden victory at the Miami Grand Prix.
Between the end of June and the end of October, Verstappen managed just three podium finishes, although the healthy championship lead built at the start of the year held him in good stead.
A decisive moment came at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Nov. 3, when Verstappen turned in what may well go down as the greatest performance of his career, winning from 17th on the grid in a rain-soaked event which saw Norris struggle after starting on pole position.
The Brazil is what gave Verstappen the chance to wrap things up in Las Vegas.
Verstappen now goes into 2025 looking to emulate Schumacher by winning five straight championships.
