Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen claimed his fourth consecutive Formula 1 title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix last Saturday, November 23. After a season fueled by intense competitions among drivers and teams, Verstappen succeeded in holding on to his title and once again demonstrated a winning mentality and driving masterclass.
At Las Vegas, Mercedes’ silver arrows shone brightly on the podium. George Russell, who started on pole position, won the Grand Prix. He was followed by his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who rose from P10 to P2 by executing a brilliant drive, which earned him the most votes for Driver of the Day. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was the last to complete the podium. The Monegasque Charles Leclerc finished just outside the podium, behind his Spaniard teammate.
The 27-year-old world champion Verstappen came in fifth, ahead of his most prominent rival throughout the season, Lando Norris. Although Verstappen and Norris did not fight for victory in the Las Vegas GP, they led the championship standings throughout the season with fierce competition. After a head-to-head rivalry, Verstappen could afford to lose two points to Norris in Vegas or finish ahead of Norris to seal the title, as he did. The key numbers that determined the outcome for the pair were 59 and 60. If the gap between the two was 59 or lower, Norris would still stand a chance. However, with the result of the race last Sunday, the gap rose to 63, and the competition for the 2024 F1 season was over.
“It feels incredible to win here today and I am so proud to win the Championship. It has been quite a year and I’m proud of how we handled everything as a Team,” the Dutchman said after the race. “I am very proud to be part of this Team, especially as we are now celebrating our fourth World Title.”
“Congrats to Max – I’m disappointed I’m out of it, but Max deserved to win it,” Norris congratulated his opponent. “He drove a better season than I did, he deserved it more than anyone else, Max just doesn’t have a weakness. When he’s got the best car he dominates and when he’s not got the best car he’s still just there always, always there to make your life tough and difficult,” he stated.
Verstappen commented on Norris’ performance as, “I'm happy for him. He had a great season, maybe not everything went his way this year, but that's just part of the road that you're on. You make mistakes, you learn from it. It's about how you bounce back from it.”
Though the Drivers’ Championship Title has been decided two races prior to the season finale, the Constructors’ Title fight is still alive. While McLaren leads the rankings with 608 points, Ferrari gets closer to the top with each race. The British McLaren driver Norris remarked the importance of giving everything till the last minute in Abu Dhabi to secure the Constructors’ Title for his team. “I think we had to get everything out of it today, every point is going to matter at the end of the season as Ferrari are performing well. We’ll keep fighting, we have to, I think it’s [the Constructors’ fight] very much alive still, I’m confident we can still do it, but it’s not going to be easy by any means,” he said.
Except for Verstappen’s performance, the 2024 season has been an unfortunate season for the Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT team compared to its unmatched dominance in the last two previous years. They started the season with rather optimistic results which did not last long. Throughout the calendar, Red Bull drivers complained about RB20’s undriveable form and faced lack of balance and plenty of oversteer through slow corners in multiple tracks. This resulted in a drop off in performance of the Red Bull duo.
Compared to his teammate Verstappen, who adapted relatively well to the condition of the car, Perez executed a poor performance all season, creating a huge gap between himself and his teammate. Although Verstappen managed to claim his fourth consecutive championship with the RB20, the points garnered by him were not enough to win another title for his team.
Red Bull further witnessed a downfall in the Constructors’ rankings. They are now behind McLaren and Ferrari. On the other hand, McLaren had arguably the most prominent car of the season, which secured both of the McLaren drivers their first-ever F1 wins. Nevertheless, this could not hinder Verstappen from earning yet another championship, silencing speculations that he could win the championship only with the help of the most dominant car.
However, this is Verstappen’s fourth consecutive F1 Champion Title, perhaps the toughest one he has earned, which he has been winning since the 2021 season. By only looking at his statistics, one can easily see that the Dutchman has a unique, ruthless driving style and iron-willed mentality, almost like a machine. His successful early years in Toro Rosso served as the key element in rising up in the F1 ladder to one of the biggest constructors in the sport, Red Bull. Verstappen has been cementing his legacy in motorsports over the years with triumphs and records. Three-time F1 World Champion Niki Lauda even described him as the “talent of the century.”
Now, Verstappen has become a member of an elite club with at least four Formula 1 titles. He joined legends Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel, who also have four titles, trailing Juan Manuel Fangio with five, and Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher with seven. The Dutch pilot is also the fifth driver in F1 history to win four consecutive titles, a record surpassed only by Schumacher’s incredible five.
The 2024 season has been an outstanding one compared to others in F1 history. With Russell’s win in Vegas, the total number of multiple race winners in a season rose to seven drivers, breaking the 1981 season record of six. Additionally, every driver who has won a race has done so at least twice, which surpasses all previous seasons by this measure. Lastly, if George Russell does not win the next race in Qatar and/or there isn’t any consecutive winner across Qatar and Abu Dhabi, 2024 can tie for second place, alongside the 1982 and 2012 seasons, at 14 consecutive races with no back-to-back winners. Currently, it stands at 12 consecutive races in that category.
Only two races remain ahead of the F1 community before the 2024 season finale. Following a phenomenal year in the sport, Verstappen has once again consolidated his status as one of Formula One’s greatest drivers. Although the spotlight has shifted from the Drivers’ Championship Title to the Constructors’ Title, there are still battles to fight and pivotal points to gain.
Edited by: Derya Selin Yener, Yağmur Ece Nisanoğlu