Ferrari are now in their longest-ever championship drought · RaceFans

Max Verstappen’s fourth consecutive drivers’ championship was hard-won, but additionally statistically preordained.

Each driver in Method 1 historical past who has gained three consecutive championships has gone on to take a fourth, a sample Verstappen continued final weekend. Among the many 4 drivers he emulated have been Juan Manuel Fangio in 1957 and Michael Schumacher in 2003.

Verstappen additionally did the identical as the one different driver to win a world championship for Crimson Bull, Sebastian Vettel, in 2013 and his fast predecessor as champion, Lewis Hamilton, in 2020. Alain Prost is the one four-time F1 champion who didn’t win 4 in a row.

The Crimson Bull driver has now gained two titles on a Sunday and two on a Saturday. Previous to Verstappen’s title-clinching drive within the Qatar dash race final yr, no driver had gained the world championship on a Saturday since Keke Rosberg within the 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix in Las Vegas. The one driver who gained the title exterior of a Sunday was Nelson Piquet, who turned champion in 1987 when Nigel Mansell’s crash throughout Friday follow dominated him out of the penultimate spherical in Japan.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Las Vegas Strip Circuit, 2024 — Verstappen made it 4 in a row

The constructors’ championship is but to be determined, however Ferrari moved nearer to leaders McLaren as Carlos Sainz Jnr and Charles Leclerc completed third and fourth. Because the final race weekend Ferrari are actually of their longest ever constructors’ championship drought: It’s been 5,866 days since they gained the 2008 title, six days longer than the hole between their 1983 and 1999 wins.

George Russell claimed the third grand prix win of his profession and led Mercedes to their first one-two of the season. All this additionally occurred at Spa earlier this yr, just for Russell to be disqualified attributable to a technical infringement.

F1 has set new data for competitiveness this yr because of Russell’s win. He’s the seventh completely different driver to assert a couple of win, beating the 1981 report of six. The one exception among the many main 4 groups is the totally win-less Sergio Perez.

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4 completely different groups have now gained 4 races every, which has additionally by no means occurred earlier than. However in fact this was not attainable in 30 of the 76 world championship seasons when fewer than 16 rounds have been held.

Nelson Piquet, Carlos Reutemann, 1981 — Piquet and Reutemann have been two of six a number of winners in 1981

Six completely different drivers have gained the final six rounds: Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Leclerc, Sainz, Verstappen and Russell. There hasn’t been a season with greater than seven in a row for the final 40 years, and the report stands at 9.

F1 has now had 13 grands prix with none driver taking back-to-back victories. This final occurred from the ultimate spherical of the 2016 season as much as the twelfth occasion of the next yr.

Russell’s win got here from the fifth pole place of the yr (together with his 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix pole place, which Method 1 ignores) and places him stage with Giuseppe Farina, Chris Amon, Clay Regazzoni, Patrick Tambay and Keke Rosberg.

Norris claimed the quickest lap for the fifth time this yr. Nobody else can subsequently win the pole place trophy outright this yr, although both Verstappen or Leclerc might share it with the McLaren driver.

Pierre Gasly took a exceptional third on the grid for Alpine. This was the second-highest beginning place of his profession after his sole entrance row look on the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, when he took second for AlphaTauri (due partly to the injury he picked up on his last lap and the ensuing yellow flag it prompted).

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Aston Martin’s current droop continued. They have been the slowest group by way of one-lap tempo final weekend and failed to attain for fourth occasion in a row, their worst run since their five-race point-less spell which straddled the 2022 and 2023 campaigns.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix was the 79th world championship spherical to happen in the US. The USA, which holds three rounds per season, is now the second most frequent host of grands prix, tied with Britain (one race per yr) and Germany (none). Nevertheless it would take many extra years for it to catch as much as Italy, which at present holds two races per yr and has already staged 107.