Las Vegas recap: Verstappen wins comfortably as Mercedes’ Brits dominate while Ferrari leaves in frustration

With plenty of winners and losers walking away from an action-packed weekend in Vegas, the Sin City race proved a monumental turning point in the 2024 Formula 1 season. All the chips were taken off the table by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who won his fourth consecutive driver’s title, leaving his main rival Lando Norris to think about what could have happened. With all the focus on the title fight, it was easy to overlook Mercedes’ monumental comeback as George Russell and Lewis Hamilton closed the podium with a one-two. Close behind them was Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who left Vegas frustrated despite securing another podium. Here’s what we learned and all the highlights from the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Verstappen joins legends Prost and Vettel with four World Championship titles

Although it hasn’t all been plain sailing for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen this season, the Dutchman secured a place at the table of four-time world champions in Vegas, alongside legends Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel.

Despite the Dutchman finishing where he started (5th), it was enough to deal a decisive blow to Norris’ championship hopes and secure the drivers’ title with two races until the end of the season.

“It was a long season and of course we started great, it was almost like cruising, but then we had a tough run,” Verstappen said of his season after the race in Vegas. “But as a team we kept it together, we kept working on improvements and we got the win,” he added.

“Incredibly proud of everyone, of what they’ve done for me… so right now I feel very relieved in a way, but also proud.”

Now with four titles to his name, only Juan Manuel Fangio (five), Michael Schumacher and Hamilton (both seven) are above him in the F1 history books, but considering he’s still only 27, Verstappen still has plenty time to catch up.

“It was a rollercoaster of a year and Max was absolutely outstanding,” team boss Christian Horner told Sky Sports F1. “We got off to a flying start, we had a very difficult summer, but he just kept getting the results.

“He has won eight Grands Prix, which is more than double of any other driver. He was simply excellent.

“I think this has been his best and most difficult championship and he has shown maturity. He has delivered on the days when the car wasn’t quite there and there is no one who deserves this championship more than Max.”

Despite the driver’s title being won early, Verstappen’s work is far from done. With two races to go, the battle for the constructors’ title is still ongoing, with Red Bull’s hopes of a third title largely hinging on the Dutchman’s performance. With 53 points between Red Bull and classification leader McLaren, there is still time for the 2024 driver champion and his teammate Sergio Perez to make the difference.

Brits take center stage in Vegas with double Mercedes podium

For all the fuss about Verstappen’s title victory, it was easy to overlook Mercedes’ sensational comeback in Vegas, not least George Russell’s fourth F1 win, which he converted from pole. As for his teammate Lewis Hamilton, the Brit came in close behind him in second place, despite starting from P10.

“It was a dream of a weekend,” Russell said after the race. “I don’t know how we got so fast, but I’m just riding this wave right now.

“To get the win here, pole position, a dominant weekend, a one-two with Lewis too… we couldn’t have chosen a better place to make this possible.”
Although qualifying didn’t go exactly to plan for Hamilton, the 39-year-old made good use of his unparalleled experience to make up for lost ground in Vegas. He slipped through the field to finish second and his fifth podium of the 2024 season.

“I had a great time, when you make progress it’s always a great feeling,” said the seven-time world champion after the race.

“It felt a lot like my old days (karting) at Rye House, starting at the back and going all the way – so it was great.

“It was a very good balance in the car today. It felt a lot better than yesterday – especially in Q3 – but it’s just phenomenal for the team.”

While the season hasn’t always gone to plan for Mercedes, its dominance in Vegas suggests the car is responding well to colder temperatures – something the team will be hoping for as the series moves to the Middle East for the final two rounds.

“I don’t think anyone in the team knows why we are as fast as we were this weekend. We are happy with it, but I think we often have a harder time in the warmer conditions,” he explained.

Podium for Sainz despite frustrating race for Ferrari

Despite his time at Ferrari coming to an end at the end of the season in Abu Dhabi, Carlos Sainz managed to secure another podium finish in Vegas, finishing third behind both Mercedes drivers.

Although the end result was good, it could have been better as the Spaniard started the race in P2, behind Russell. Everything was going well for Sainz until a failed pit stop disrupted his race on lap 27.

Despite being ordered to pit, Sainz’s team told him to wait until the very last minute, forcing him to abort the pit stop and jump back over the pit entrance platform onto the track.

“We simply didn’t perform overall,” the Spaniard said after the race. “We just didn’t have a very good race.

“It just shows that in this sport you have to do things perfectly weekend in, weekend out. We have done very well all year in terms of strategy and race management, but today was not our day. “We just didn’t do well and we will have to learn from it and make sure we come back stronger in Qatar.”

As for his teammate Charles Leclerc, “everything went wrong” the Monagasque driver claimed after finishing fourth despite challenging for the lead.
Leclerc left the starting line and passed Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and his teammate Sainz at Turn 1, before launching an attack on leader George Russell. But his progress was short-lived as tire wear forced him into the pits on lap ten.

“I mean, I was very excited at the start (in) P2, but then unfortunately everything started going wrong very quickly because I was putting too much pressure on the tires,” Leclerc admitted.

Yet Ferrari didn’t exactly leave Vegas empty-handed. With a P3 and P4, the team from Maranello achieved 12 points on leader McLaren, closing the gap to just 24 points. With Red Bull also competing for the constructors’ title – albeit 53 points behind McLaren – there is still plenty to play for in the 2024 season.