Verstappen seals fourth world title as Russell dominates in Vegas

Max Verstappen is champion of the world for the fourth time in four years, after beating Lando Norris in Las Vegas to settle the title fight with two races to go.

The Red Bull driver – sporting a makeshift rear wing to cope with the track’s long straights – needed to finish ahead of his McLaren rival to put the championship out of reach, and that’s exactly what he did.

In the early stages of the grand prix it looked as though he had the pace to challenge for the podium, but the Dutchman was passed by both Ferraris and the charging Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton in the final stint, leaving him to secure fifth place as Norris could only manage P6.

It means Verstappen leads the standings by 63 points with only 60 left to play for in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Up ahead, polesitter George Russell was in a league of his own from start to finish, fending off a brief challenge from Charles Leclerc early on before cruising clear of the field.

In the last 10 laps it looked as though Hamilton – who made two crucial errors in quali and had to start from P10 – would threaten his teammate for the win, but Russell was simply managing his pace and comfortably held on for his second victory of the season (or third, if you count his DSQ from P1 in Belgium).

Despite the Silver Arrows securing a superb 1-2, all eyes were on the champion in the aftermath: Max has pulled level with Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel on four world titles, and now only Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher and Hamilton lie ahead of him on the list of all-time greats.

“Oh my God man, what a season,” the 27-year-old said to race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. “Four times… thank you guys. Thank you to everyone. I mean, it was a little bit more difficult than last year, but we came through and we gave it all. Thank you so much guys.”

Red Bull started the season with the strongest car on the grid, allowing Max to reel off seven wins in the opening 10 races, but since taking the chequered flag at the Spanish Grand Prix the team and its car have faltered.

With McLaren emerging with the fastest package thereafter, Norris was able to chip away at Verstappen’s substantial lead. But the Briton never quite built up enough momentum, partly because of Max’s uncompromising interpretation of the rulebook but mostly because of the outstanding consistency that’s seen him pull clear of three-time world champions like Ayrton Senna, Niki Lauda and Jackie Stewart.

And Verstappen delivered a knockout blow in torrential conditions at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, winning from 17th on the grid in an emphatic reminder of his status as the best driver in the world.

“It feels incredible to win here today and I am so proud to win the championship,” Max reflected after the race in Sin City. “It has been quite a year and I’m proud of how we handled everything as a team.

“We started off the season really strong and then it became quite tough; we never wanted to give up and got the best result we could, barely made any mistakes and that is what you need to win a title.”

Lando meanwhile was gracious in defeat, saying: “A big congratulations to Max on winning the drivers’ championship, he deserved it. He drove better than everyone over the course of the year, and rarely makes a mistake. So congrats to him for delivering once again.”

Russell’s triumph means seven drivers have won multiple races this season, and 2025 – the final year of the current regulations – looks set to be insanely close.

Can anyone topple super (super, super, super) Max?