F1: Max Verstappen has crossed the finish line at the Las Vegas Grand Prix to join the exclusive club of drivers to win four in a row.
“To be honest, when I look back at this season probably in 20 years time when I’m retired, Las Vegas 2024 as a race is not going to be in my top 10,” Max Verstappen said after winning his fourth world championship in the self-proclaimed entertainment capital of the world. “But it’s still very special to win it here.”New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer .
He’s far from the first driver to win the title from a relatively lowly finishing, and remarkably he’s not even the first driver to do so in Las Vegas. Verstappen, last year the race’s biggest critic, now joins a rare and small group of Las Vegas champions. “Then the season has been very different to the second one and last year’s one, and that’s very beautiful, because if they’re all fairly similar, that’s not as exciting.Almost 800 drivers have started a grand prix. Just 115 of them have been lucky enough to win one.Verstappen stepped into an elite inner circle with his third championship last year by matching some of the sport’s most important names: Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna.
“When you grow up racing and you see all these stats of some legendary drivers you’re like, ‘That’s very impressive and I hope one day that I can even just be on the podium, win a race, maybe win a championship’,” he said. “He has an insane amount of natural talent and ability. He has more hunger than I’ve ever seen in any driver.
“At the end of the day, winning one or seven, it’s the same thing, right? But of course if you can repeat it a few times, that is very nice. In reality the rot had set in long before that. McLaren had become a regular contender after Lando Norris’s breakthrough first victory in Miami, ever since when Verstappen had had to work for his points.
“But then I’m also very happy and I’m proud of how the team reacted, responded, and turned it around a bit. “Those moments are actually very important to keep it together and actually work harder and try to understand what is going on, because even those moments you give up, you are going to give up the championship as well.”“When he gets in the car he gives 110 per cent,” he said. “He’s done that weekend after weekend, and of course he’s had a great team of men and women behind him, but he’s led that inspiration from in the cockpit particularly on the tough days.
But today, after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the margin stands at 63 points. In the last 12 races Norris has managed to close the gap by just six points.It’s not enough to say Norris and McLaren squibbed it. Yet to finish lower than sixth this season, Verstappen has ensured his would-be rival never had an opening to strike.
Despite having dominated the constructors championship last season after winning every race but one, RBR is just third on this year’s teams title table and 53 points behind leader McLaren. It then happened again in 1983, when Nelson Piquet claimed the crown racing for third-placed Brabham.
Drivers Championships World Drivers North America Drivers Title Alain Prost Insane Natural Talent Opening Dominant Phase Elite Group Team Leader World Titles Things Matter Natural Talent Race Win Las Vegas Sebastian Vettel Lando Norris Right Team Situation Grand Prix Constructors Championship Hardest Championship Team Principal Championship Table Florida Outdoor Car Park Constructors Title Northern America Elite Inner Christian Horner Sergio Pérez Grand Prix Drivers Formidable Championship Lead Finish Line Midseason Break Time Offer Title Winners Mark Thompson Sky Sports Career Achievements Grid Walk World Championship Grands Prix Title Table United States Of America Title Fight Teams Championship Strip Circuit History Stand Agence France Presse Max Verstappen World Title Won Jack Brabham Juan Manuel Fangio Title Candidate America Nondescript Ending Nevada Getty Images Inc. Charles Leclerc Niki Lauda Self-Proclaimed Entertainment Capital Jackie Stewart Drivers World Title Teams Title Keke Rosberg Sergio Perez Miami Four-Time World Champion Championship Defence Regular Contender
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