Red Bull’s Max Verstappen claimed his fourth successive title in the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix with a fifth-place finish.
The Dutchman finished ahead of McLaren Lando Norris to ensure the Drivers’ Championship was decided with two rounds to spare.
At the start of 2024, things looked plain sailing for Verstappen as he won seven out of the first 10 Grands Prix of the campaign.
However, Verstappen and Red Bull then went on a barren streak of 10 races without a win as Norris and McLaren started to mount a title challenge.
Sparing Verstappen was the ultra-competitive F1 field, which saw McLaren share wins with Ferrari and Mercedes.
Then in Brazil, a stunning drive from 17th on the grid to victory in a wet Sao Paulo Grand Prix reinstated a healthy 62-point advantage for Verstappen in the standings.
That meant all he had to do in Vegas was outperform Norris, and he started promisingly by qualifying fifth, one place ahead of his McLaren rival.
“It’s nice today,” he said after qualifying. “But it’s more important tomorrow.”
Norris was unable to overcome Verstappen in the race, handing a fourth title in succession to the Red Bull ace.
Verstappen now joins Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton on the list of drivers with four successive titles.
Moreover, he joins an elite club that also includes Alain Prost, to hold four titles overall.
READ MORE – Lando Norris ‘proud’ McLaren took F1 title fight to Max Verstappen ‘this far’
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