LAS VEGAS (AP) — Max Verstappen clinched his fourth consecutive Formula 1 championship on Saturday night by finishing fifth in the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Verstappen needed to finish ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris to give Red Bull a fourth consecutive drivers' championship. The Dutchman started from fifth position, but by the tenth lap on the street circuit that includes the famous Las Vegas Strip, he was already in second place.
Norris, who needed to score at least three more points than Verstappen to extend the championship fight, finished in sixth place. Verstappen only needed to finish ahead of Norris to win the title, which he achieved with two races remaining in the season.
He finished the race with a 63-point advantage over Norris with two races remaining in the season.
"Max Verstappen, you are a four-time world champion," Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told the driver over the radio. "That is a phenomenal achievement, phenomenal. You can be incredibly proud of yourself as we are."
Verstappen, the sixth driver in F1 history to win at least four titles, sounded unusually excited over the radio.
"Oh my God, what a season. Four times. Thank you, thank you guys," he said. "We gave it our all."
Meanwhile, George Russell won the Las Vegas Grand Prix, followed by Lewis Hamilton in the first 1-2 finish achieved by the Mercedes drivers since 2022. Hamilton started from the 10th position on the grid, two weeks after a demoralizing race in Brazil, to secure his spot on the podium.
The duo crossed the finish line under a checkered flag waved by actor Sylvester Stallone.
Carlos Sainz Jr. finished third for Ferrari while the constructors' championship remains a close battle between the leader McLaren and Ferrari. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, came in fourth. Red Bull had won the championship, which pays approximately 150 million dollars in prize money, in the last two seasons, but has fallen to third place in the standings.
However, the championship battle seems to be heading towards the season finale next month in Abu Dhabi. McLaren holds a 24-point advantage over Ferrari heading into the Qatar Grand Prix, after Norris and Oscar Piastri finished sixth and seventh respectively in Las Vegas.
"Max deserved to win. He had a better season than me, he deserved it more than anyone," Norris said. "Max simply doesn't have a weakness. When he has the best car, he dominates, and when he doesn't have the best car, he's always just there."
Meanwhile, Verstappen easily dealt with Norris after a season in which the McLaren driver challenged him more than he had been challenged since winning his first championship in 2021.
"Being here as a four-time champion is something I never thought would be possible," Verstappen commented to actor Terry Crews, who moderated the post-race interviews held in front of the famous fountains of the Bellagio hotel.
"It was a very challenging season and I had to stay calm. I think this season taught me many lessons and we handled it well as a team, so of course that makes it a very special and beautiful season."
Verstappen, who is 27 years old, won 19 races last year. He started the season at a good pace, but a long streak without victories that extended from June until the race in Brazil held two weeks ago has left him with just eight wins, his lowest amount since 2020.
The Dutch pilot asked what time it was at the Bellagio, pointed out that he was in Las Vegas, and said, "I'm very thirsty." He had a champagne celebration pending.
On the other hand, Russell, the winner of Sunday's early morning race, said he was going to miss his scheduled flight to celebrate the victory with Crews. During the podium celebration, he had to sit down twice to wipe his eyes from the champagne.
Verstappen was running in third place with about 20 laps remaining and was not pushing too hard when Red Bull urged him to be patient over the team radio.
"Max, just don't lose sight of our goal today, okay?" they said.
Verstappen was not interested in receiving instructions.
"Yes, yes. I am pursuing my career," he replied.
When he later saw the Ferrari drivers behind him, he asked for instructions due to the implications for the constructors' championship.
"Do you want me to try to keep them behind or what?" Verstappen asked about Sainz and Leclerc.
"I think you should, yes," Red Bull told Verstappen.
He couldn't retain them, but it didn't make any difference since his season was dominant enough to equal former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel as four-time champions for the team.
This was the second year of the Las Vegas Grand Prix on the F1 calendar after its debut last year was a bit disastrous in the sense that locals were furious for months due to ongoing construction works, as well as detours and traffic delays, inability to access many local businesses, exorbitant prices from the tourism industry as well as ticket sales for the race, and then a loose manhole cover that nearly destroyed Sainz's Ferrari minutes after the first practice session.
It caused a delay of hours for the repairs, the fans were removed from the circuit, and Formula 1 continued the practice until 4 a.m. — when legally had to reopen the streets to the public.
This year has been much less chaotic, partly because all the infrastructure headaches were dealt with last year, but also because last year's race was spectacular. Despite all its bumps, the actual race was one of the best of the F1 season.
Russell started on pole ahead of Sainz, who was seeking redemption after last year's valve cover fiasco.
The race is the final stop in the United States for F1, which has exploded in American popularity over the last five years. The trio of races in Miami, Austin, Texas, and Las Vegas are more than in any other country.