Introduction
Max Verstappen turned a four-time world champion with an assured drive to fifth place throughout Saturday evening’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, whereas pole-sitter George Russell and the charging Lewis Hamilton earned a one-two end for Mercedes.
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Verstappen entered the 50-lap encounter understanding that he wanted to maintain title rival Lando Norris behind him to safe one other crown, which the Dutchman achieved by holding place into the primary nook and step by step pulling away from the McLaren driver.
Having held a podium spot after the second spherical of pit stops, Verstappen opted in opposition to a combat when the Ferraris arrived on the rear of his Pink Bull within the closing laps – each Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc discovering a well past earlier than the chequered flag.
On the entrance, Russell expertly managed a difficult race in cool, slippery situations, protecting a fast-starting Leclerc at bay within the early laps – the latter working into tyre troubles because of that aggression – and controlling proceedings thereafter.
Hamilton bounced again from a difficult conclusion to qualifying, which left him tenth on the grid, to work his means by means of the sector and again up teammate Russell, whose win marked the primary Mercedes triumph since July’s Belgian Grand Prix.
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Norris made a profitable bid for the quickest lap within the dying moments as he took sixth and mathematically dropped out of championship rivalry, with teammate Oscar Piastri crossing the road seventh after a time penalty for a false begin.
Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg cleared RB’s Yuki Tsunoda late in what may very well be essential for the tight constructors’ battle over P6, particularly after second-row starter Pierre Gasly suffered an agonising retirement because of technical hassle aboard his Alpine.
Sergio Perez added a degree to Pink Bull’s tally in tenth, denying Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, with one-stopping Haas racer Kevin Magnussen twelfth from Kick Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu and the Williams of Franco Colapinto, who began within the pit lane following his scary qualifying crash.
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Liam Lawson (RB), Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber) had been the ultimate finishers after Alex Albon turned the second retirement from the race for Williams because of technical gremlins of his personal.
All the eye, although, was on Verstappen when he returned to Parc Ferme, the 27-year-old lapping up the celebrations with the Pink Bull workforce because of him becoming a member of a bunch of F1 greats on 4 world titles – all achieved one after the opposite.
Mario Isola, Motorsport Director, Pirelli:
To start with, congratulations to Max Verstappen on his fourth world title, an unbelievable achievement for a teenager who has solely just lately turned 27. Properly finished, too, to Pink Bull, as that is the eighth time one in every of their drivers has been topped champion. After the beginning of this season, it appeared to observe the identical sample as final yr’s. Max had a troublesome time however fought laborious race after race, regardless that he didn’t have probably the most aggressive bundle, proving to be a rare champion.
Congratulations should additionally go to Method 1 for having placed on a incredible occasion right here in Las Vegas, stuffed with sights and sounds and, above all, an awesome present on observe, which undoubtedly proved common with the gang of over 300,000 spectators who got here to the observe over the weekend and the tens of millions watching on tv and on-line.
As for tyre efficiency, it may have been a extra exact minimize Grand Prix, beginning with the technique decisions. Earlier than the race, the one-stop was the quickest choice, however ultimately, nearly all of the drivers pitted twice; if we pass over Norris, who made a further cease to go for the purpose for setting the quickest race lap and Ocon, who most popular to not take any dangers on the finish. From an preliminary evaluation of the info, this was due primarily to the truth that a number of drivers selected to push laborious proper from the beginning with out giving an excessive amount of thought to tyre administration. As a consequence, a few of them, subsequently, suffered greater than anticipated with graining and had been compelled to make their first pit cease sooner than deliberate, which triggered a sequence response which, little by little, pushed everybody in direction of a two-stop, particularly as they knew they might rely on two units of Laborious tyres, which was definitely probably the most aggressive compound for the race.
On common, the extent of efficiency degradation was comparatively low on each the Medium and the Laborious, and so was put on. Some drivers suffered from deformation greater than others, particularly on the C4, however a one-stop was nonetheless doable if the tyres had been managed rigorously. The consequence was an action-packed Grand Prix with loads of overtaking and wheel-to-wheel battles, which was nice for all of the followers of this excellent sport.”
The day on the observe:
Temperatures had been barely larger for the race, each ambient and observe, in comparison with the earlier days at 18/17 °C. On the grid, the overwhelming majority of drivers opted to begin on the Medium. There have been 4 who selected in any other case: Alonso on Softs, Perez, Bottas and Colapinto, the latter ranging from pit lane, on Hards. Virtually all drivers made two stops, preferring to get probably the most out of the tyres, particularly the 2 units of Hards they’d saved for the race, moderately than attempting to handle them, particularly within the first stint.
As is so typically the case, the laurels for the longest stints went to 3 specialists on this self-discipline, Kevin Magnussen and Esteban Ocon each finishing 33 laps on the Laborious, whereas Valtteri Bottas did 18 with the Medium.
2024 Method 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix Race Outcomes
PosNoDriverCountryTeamTimePointsOverall
1.63George RussellGreat BritainMercedes-AMG Petronas1:22:05.96925217
2.44Lewis HamiltonGreat BritainMercedes-AMG Petronas+7.313s18208
3.55Carlos SainzSpainScuderia Ferrari+11.906s15259
4.16Charles LeclercMonacoScuderia Ferrari+14.283s12319
5.1Max VerstappenNetherlandsRed Bull Racing+16.582s10403
6.4Lando NorrisGreat BritainMclaren Racing+43.385s9340
7.81Oscar PiastriAustraliaMcLaren Racing+51.365s6268
8.27Nico HulkenbergGermanyHaas F1 Group+59.808s435
9.22Yuki TsunodaJapanVisa Money App F1 Group+62.808s230
10.11Sergio PerezMexicoRed Bull Racing +63.114s1152
11.14Fernando AlonsoSpainAston Martin F1 Group+69.195s062
12.20Kevin MagnussenDenmarkHaas F1 Group+69.803s014
13.24Zhou GuanyuChinaKick Sauber F1 Group+74.085s00
14.43Franco ColapintoArgentinaWilliams Racing+75.172s05
15.18Lance StrollCanadaAston Martin F1 Group+84.102s024
16.30Liam LawsonNew ZealandVisa Money App F1 Group+91.005s04
17.31Esteban OconFranceAlpine F1 Group+1 lap023
18.77Valtteri BottasFinlandKick Sauber F1 Group+1 lap00
19.23Alexander AlbonThailandWilliams RacingDNF012
20.10Pierre GaslyFranceAlpine F1 TeamDNF026
2024 Constructor Standings
PosTeamPoints
1.McLaren Racing608
2.Scuderia Ferrari584
3.Pink Bull Racing555
4.Mercedes-AMG Petronas425
5.Aston Martin F1 Team86
6.Haas F1 Team50
6.Alpine F1 Team49
7.Visa Money App F1 Team46
8.Williams Racing17
10.Kick Sauber F1 Team0
Listed below are the team-by-team highlights:
