Verstappen finishes fifth in Las Vegas Grand Prix for title-clinching result in race won by George Russell in Mercedes one-two; Lando Norris, who had to finish ahead of Verstappen to extend championship fight for at least one more week, struggled to distant sixth
Sunday 24 November 2024 09:56, UK
Max Verstappen has become Formula 1 world champion for the fourth time after clinching the 2024 title with a fifth-placed finish at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Verstappen, 27, is the sixth driver in the sport's history to win at least four world titles.
Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton have each won a record seven, with 1950s Argentine legend Juan-Manuel Fangio on five ahead of Alain Prost, Sebastian Vettel and now Verstappen on four.
Having won every Drivers' Championship since claiming his first in the controversial end to the 2021 season, Verstappen now joins Hamilton, Fangio and Vettel in winning four titles consecutively.
Only Schumacher has achieved a run of five.
On the back of the most-dominant season in history in 2023 when he won a record 19 races out of 22, Verstappen had seemed set to walk away with the championship again after claiming seven of this year's first 10 wins.
But an unexpected Red Bull slump in form, combined with McLaren emerging as the grid's most consistent front-runner and Ferrari's own step forward since the summer break, had seen Lando Norris mount a late-season challenge.
"It's been a long season. Of course, we started off amazing, it was almost like cruising but then we had a tough run," said Verstappen after Sunday's race.
"But as a team we kept it together, we kept working on improvement and we pulled over the line.
"I'm incredibly proud of everyone, what they have done for me.
"And to stand here as a four-time world champion is of course something that I never thought was possible. So, at the moment just feeling relieved, in a way, but also very proud."
But while Red Bull lost the leadership of the Constructors' Championship and slipped to third amid sustained struggles for Sergio Perez, Verstappen's ability to keep scoring strong points finishes meant his advantage reduced at more gradual rate from a season-high of lead of 84 points after July's British Grand Prix.
Norris had got it down to 44 points winning the Sprint at the Sao Paulo GP earlier this month but the title race decisively turned back in Verstappen's favour a day later as the Dutchman produced a sublime drive in the rain-hit Grand Prix to win from 17th on the grid while his McLaren rival faltered to sixth from pole.
Verstappen's first full-race win in five months re-established a commanding lead of 62 points and meant he would win the title in Las Vegas by finishing ahead of Norris, which he achieved on Sunday morning by taking fifth in the race - one place ahead of his McLaren rival, who struggled for pace.
Although Verstappen moved up to second behind ultimate race winner George Russell in the early stages of the race, he was shuffled off the podium to fifth in the long second stint on hard tyres after being overtaken by Lewis Hamilton and then the Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner told Sky Sports News: "He's been in a class of his own this year. He's been absolutely outstanding.
"He's won eight Grands Prix, more than double anyone else on the grid.
"He had an incredible start. We had a tough summer but he never lost his focus.
"He kept overdelivering, kept getting the results and performances. He deserves this fourth world championship. It puts him among the elite of the sport.
"I can't credit him enough for the way he's handled himself this year, the way he's worked with the engineer and team. He's been outstanding."
Formula 1's season-ending triple-header continues next weekend with the Qatar Grand Prix, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream the final two F1 races and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership - No contract, cancel anytime
