Under the lights and neons of Las Vegas, with all the fanfare that Formula 1 likes so much about spectacle and grandiloquence, Max Emilian Verstappen (Hasselt, 1997) was able to be crowned four-time world champion. As expected and as the organization desired, before the calendar arrived in Qatar.
The Dutchman had enough with a fifth place in the urban Strip Circuit of the sin city to liquidate a championship that has ruled since the first Bahrain race with solvency, with more income management than brilliance. Thus enters the indomitable Mad Max in the select club of tetraalong with Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel, and is unstoppably approaching the 7 crowns of Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.
“It has been a very complicated season, I have tried to stay calm, this year has taught me a lot of lessons, I am very proud of how we have dealt with everything as a team.”
“Being here as a four-time champion is incredible. It has been a very complicated season, I have tried to stay calm, this year has taught me many lessons, I am very proud of how we have dealt with everything as a team. Last year they got used to it with so many victories. Next year is going to be a great battle, and yes, I am very hungry for a fifth title,” commented the Dutchman as soon as he was crowned in Las Vegas.
His 2024 World Cup, the fourth in a row, will not go down in history as a brilliant championship, much less overwhelming like that of 2023, when he had no rival and crushed a much superior Red Bull, which allowed him to be crowned with 81% of victories ( 13 in 16 races, with 10 wins in a row).
On this occasion, Verstappen changed his usual insolence, his aggressiveness and authority of a superior car for a great capacity for management and resistance, high doses of defense, being conservative, minimizing losses when his various rivals pressed him most, especially the McLaren, the cars that have surpassed it the most times thanks to a spectacular evolution, going from fourth team in 2023 to first. Although between Norris and Piastri they only took five victories.
Verstappen shows his four fingers for his fourth world title with his track engineer Gianpiero Lambiase
In Las Vegas, in the race in which he could win the title, he was left behind by the Mercedes – absolute dominators, with George Russell winning – and the Ferrari, which took him off the podium. The third drawer was a solid Carlos Sainz. He didn’t care much. He was already champion because Lando Norris, 6th, didn’t worry him in the least.
Mercedes-Ferrari fight
Russell built his victory from pole and a solid start, against Sainz and Leclerc
At the start of the Las Vegas night race (it started at 10:00 p.m. in Arizona, USA), Carlos Sainz had a good chance of running for victory, starting from second position, but the Madrid native was not able to worrying Russell, and furthermore, he defended his second place badly, which his teammate Leclerc took from him by sneaking in from the inside, from 4th to 2nd. Verstappen, stopped by Gasly, maintained fifth place against Norris, sixth. Thus he was provisional world champion.
The first step to finishing off his crown was to advance one square, the easiest, Gasly’s, which the Red Bull ate on the fourth lap. He was 4th Max, 4s behind Sainz. Ahead, Leclerc began to see the seams of Russell, who put the Ferrari’s nose in to test the solidity of his leadership.
Animated start
Leclerc sinks, Verstappen goes on the attack and Sainz loses second place to the Dutchman
Paradoxically, the Monegasque collapsed in a surprising way. He left second place to Sainz on lap 8/50, and was also devoured by Verstappen, who moved up to third place on the podium easily. The number 16 Ferrari had engine retention problems and was going to the garage.
Meanwhile, his teammate from Madrid also ran out of tires and the Dutchman took advantage of this to take second position (v. 11) when braking at turn 14. Sainz immediately took the lead. pit-stop (v. 12), to attempt a undercut over the Red Bull and regain the position, but the Dutchman remained ahead, second.
The race was stabilized as Mercedes intended. After the dance of the pit-stopsRussell remained at the front of the race, with a comfortable lead of almost 10 seconds over Verstappen (v. 20/50), also comfortably installed in second position. Sainz was not worried, more than 2s behind the Dutchman, much less a sunk Norris, sixth, with a McLaren that was not at all dominant on this urban layout with little grip.
Second stops
Hamilton flies and surpasses Sainz and Verstappen to take second, behind a dominating Russell
The high degradation of the tires forced the drivers to bring forward the second stop. Sainz lost third position to Hamilton’s Mercedes (v. 29), which executed a undercutfavored by an error by the Madrid native who had a slight departure from the track. Although the Spaniard complained that his team was not prepared for the stop, he made it in 2.2s.
The Englishman was flying, surpassing Verstappen on the track with the DRS to place second. And Sainz, with a warmer tire, overtook his teammate Leclerc when the Monegasque returned to the track with the rubber still cold. Carlos was placed fourth.
With more speed and DRS
Sainz, on the attack, recovers third position from Verstappen
The tables turned on lap 40. The two Ferraris were running faster than the Red Bull and entered the DRS zone. On lap 41, Sainz approached, had the Dutchman in his sights and hit him with his ax at turn 14 to snatch third position.
It took Leclerc six laps to emulate his teammate Sainz. The Monegasque used DRS to overtake Red Bull on the inside (v. 47) and delay it to fifth place. Verstappen didn’t even defend himself, knowing that he had nothing to do against the top speed and better pace of the Ferrari, and that Norris, sixth at 10 seconds behind, was not going to worry him. The World Cup was theirs in the three remaining laps.
Russell had no problems securing the victory, the second of the season and third of his career; Hamilton returned to the podium, second, after starting tenth; and Carlos Sainz, third, added another box with Ferrari.
Fernando Alonso finished in 11th place, one position behind Sergio Pérez. The Spaniard started from 17th position on the grid.
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