Pole-sitter George Russell put on a masterclass in race management as he led from pole to win the Las Vegas Grand Prix ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton and the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz. Hamilton, not to be outdone by his teammate, put on his own veteran display as he climbed the field from 10th to 2nd for the first time since Brazil 2022, a race also won by Russell.
Meanwhile, further into the pack, it was title on for Max Verstappen as he only needed to finish ahead of Lando Norris to secure his forth title in as many years. With his fifth place finish behind the Mercedes and Ferrari pairs, Verstappen cruised to his own victory as Norris was unable to amount to any significant challenge to the Red Bull, despite the teams struggles for pace with an incorrect rear wing configuration that left them lacking for pace to start the weekend.
HIGHLIGHTS: Relive the Las Vegas Grand Prix action as Russell wins and Verstappen is crowned 2024 champion
With the lead of the race in the grasp of Russell, Charles LeClerc mounted the first challenge for the British driver, nearly overtaking him within the first stint before falling back, having used up his tires in the attempt. Teammate Sainz then made his attempt, but was never within striking distance as the Mercedes superior performance left the rest of the field behind. As Russell left the conversation and early pit stops began, all eyes turned to Hamilton who was quickly making his way through the field. Aided by pit stops and superior pace, Hamilton quickly found himself behind Verstappen and the pair of Ferrari’s as he attempted to salvage a poor qualifying performance.
In 2nd with less than 15 laps to go, Hamilton chased down Russell, bringing a gap of 13+ seconds down to only 7 as he ran out of laps to catch his teammate. The 1-2 finish swept the weekend for the team, with Russell leading nearly the entirety of the race as Hamilton celebrated his drive to recover.
Further down the order, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished sixth and seventh on the day, the latter having served a 5 second penalty for jumping the start of the race, as Nico Hulkenberg, Yuki Tsunoda, and Sergio Perez finished out the top 10.
Pierre Gasly, having started third on the grid, was the first of two DNF’s for the event as a power unit issue saw him drop out of contention only 15 laps into the race while Alex Albon was the other, with his Williams retiring on lap 25 with technical gremlins.
Verstappen makes history
The big story of the day however, was Max Verstappen as he clinched the Driver’s Championship for the forth consecutive time as he becomes only the sixth driver in Formula 1 history to achieve four titles, matching the great Alain Prost and former Red Bull champion Sebastian Vettel.
Despite not having the best car over the season, Verstappen was able to limit damage to his title chances without a victory from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards, only breaking the streak in tricky conditions in Brazil. The damage limitations kept the hard Charging McLaren of Lando Norris at bay, making this the latest championship victory since 2021 when Verstappen clinched at the final race of the season.
Additionally, Verstappen’s consecutive titles puts him on an even shorter list of champions, joining Lewis Hamilton, Vettel, and Juan Manuel Fangio as one of four drivers to win four consecutive titles. The victory, with two races to go, means that the Constructors Title still remains to be determined as McLaren narrowly leads from Ferrari and Red Bull as teams will be scrambling over points to close out 2024.
With the first weekend of the season’s final triple header, teams head to the middle east for the final races of the season as the Qatar Grand Prix makes a visit once again for the final sprint race of 2024. Catch all of our coverage here and tune in next weekend for all of the action under the lights of Lusail International Circuit.
Free Practice Report – CLICK HERE
Free Practice 2 Report – CLICK HERE
Free Practice 3 Report – CLICK HERE
Qualifying Report – CLICK HERE
FORMULA 1 QATAR AIRWAYS QATAR GRAND PRIX 2024 Schedule
| Date | Session | Time (Local Circuit) |
| Nov. 29th | Practice 1 | 16:30 – 17:30 |
| Sprint Qualifying | 20:30 – 21:14 | |
| Nov. 30th | Sprint | 17:00 – 18:00 |
| Qualifying | 21:00 – 22:00 | |
| Dec. 1st | Race | 19:00 |
Race Results:
Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 50 | 1:22:05.969 | 25 |
2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 50 | +7.313s | 18 |
3 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 50 | +11.906s | 15 |
4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 50 | +14.283s | 12 |
5 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 50 | +16.582s | 10 |
6 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 50 | +43.385s | 9 |
7 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 50 | +51.365s | 6 |
8 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | 50 | +59.808s | 4 |
9 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT | 50 | +62.808s | 2 |
10 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 50 | +63.114s | 1 |
11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 50 | +69.195s | 0 |
12 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 50 | +69.803s | 0 |
13 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 50 | +74.085s | 0 |
14 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Williams Mercedes | 50 | +75.172s | 0 |
15 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 50 | +84.102s | 0 |
16 | 30 | Liam Lawson | RB Honda RBPT | 50 | +91.005s | 0 |
17 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 49 | +1 lap | 0 |
18 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 49 | +1 lap | 0 |
NC | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 25 | DNF | 0 |
NC | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 15 | DNF | 0 |
