George Russell leads the Mercedes revolt in Las Vegas and Max Verstappen is already four-time F1 world champion

George Russell has subverted all predictions to win the Las Vegas Grand Prix completely unexpectedly. The English driver has swept a race in which Mercedes has gone through the motions, as Lewis Hamilton has completed a complete comeback to complete the double.

The great news is that Max Verstappen is already four-time Formula 1 world champion. Fifth position was enough for the Dutchman to seal the championship thanks to the very poor race pace of the McLarens in Las Vegas, who were the fourth team and made it difficult for the constructors’ championship.

Ferrari, 24 points behind McLaren in the world championship

Mercedes has rescued in Las Vegas the double that escaped it in Spa. The German brand has been on a roll with Russell dominating from start to finish and Hamilton completing a comeback in which there was no doubt that he had much more pace than his rivals. Absolute surprise from Mercedes in Las Vegas.

A result that means that even four different teams have done a double so far this season. Red Bull did it in three races at the beginning of the year, Ferrari did it in Australia and Texas, McLaren did it in Hungary and now Mercedes does it for the second time, but for the first time legally, since in Spa Russell’s car was disqualified .

But the great news is Verstappen’s fourth world championship. The Dutchman ties with Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost after a very creditable race in which he resisted in the fight for the podium until the end, but he slipped away in the final laps with the Ferraris. Fifth place tastes like glory for Verstappen.

Why McLaren has had a very poor performance. Lando Norris’ pace was dismal, stuck in sixth position and making the fastest lap only for an extra stop on the penultimate lap. As for Oscar Piastri, he finished seventh after a penalty for placing himself poorly on the starting grid.

So the constructors’ world championship is compressed to the maximum. Carlos Sainz got on the podium finishing just ahead of Charles Leclerc despite a strategic misunderstanding. Now Ferrari is only 24 points behind McLaren in the overall manufacturers’ standings, leaving two races and a sprint ahead.

BUT I DON’T HAVE POWEEEEEEER!

Gasly’s anger when they told him from the wall that they saw everything well #LasVegasDAZNF1 pic.twitter.com/PIjbN61wgS

— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) November 24, 2024

Mathematically, Red Bull still has title options, but very few. They are 55 points behind McLaren, among other things because Sergio Pérez has only been able to climb up to tenth positionso it only adds one point. Pérez was unable to pass Yuki Tsunoda in the final laps despite being close behind.

Pérez’s comeback leaves no prize Fernando Alonso’s superb careerwhich has risen to eleventh place with an Aston Martin that is already competing to be the worst car on the grid. Alonso opted to start on soft tires, the only one on the grid, and make a counter-race, stopping early.

Solid eighth place for Nico Hülkenberg that returns Haas to sixth position in the constructors’ world championship against an Alpine that failed at the worst moment. Pierre Gasly’s engine broke when he was on his way to the points, and even Racing Bulls cut them short thanks to Tsunoda’s performance.

Formula 1 GP Las Vegas 2024 race results

Formula 1 general classification

1st. Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull-HOL), 403 points

2nd. Lando NORRIS (McLaren-GBR), 340 points

3rd. Charles LECLERC (Ferrari-MON), 319 points

4th. Oscar PIASTRI (McLaren-AUS), 268 points

5º. Carlos SAINZ (Ferrari-ESP), 259 points