The race recap
The main highlight of the Las Vegas Grand Prix is unquestionably tied to Max Verstappen’s 2024 world championship victory. Despite finishing 5th, he secured enough points to definitively extend his lead over Norris (6th at the finish) with two races remaining in the championship, claiming his fourth consecutive career title. The final U.S. round also delivered great emotions for Mercedes, who celebrated a one-two finish with George Russell’s second win of the season and Lewis Hamilton’s recovery to 2nd place, capping off a perfect weekend for the Brackley team. On a challenging Las Vegas Saturday night due to tire management, with the first pit stops occurring as early as lap 10, Carlos Sainz clinched a podium finish, followed by his teammate Charles Leclerc. This double result allowed Ferrari to close the gap to McLaren in the standings ahead of the final races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, reducing the deficit to 24 points.
Comments from the top three
*George Russell (1st, Mercedes)*: “We’re going to have a great party tonight. I was planning to fly out in a couple of hours, but I’ll definitely not board that flight and will enjoy this evening with the whole team. It’s been a dream weekend; I don’t know how we were so fast, but right now, I’m on cloud nine. Las Vegas is truly a crazy place; driving with this backdrop is indescribable. We couldn’t have chosen a better place to win with pole position after dominating the entire weekend and securing a one-two with Lewis. I was expecting something to happen because in other races where I started from pole, chaos always followed—rain or dry, something always happened. Last race in Brazil, there was a red flag, but here I felt confident. I had a good lead but was still expecting something to happen. This time, it didn’t. Maybe luck has finally turned my way, and I’m happy.”
*Lewis Hamilton (2nd, Mercedes)*: “First of all, I want to congratulate Max on winning the championship. If I had done my job yesterday, things might have been different today, but I still had fun. Starting from the back, the team did a fantastic job. We didn’t know why we were so fast this weekend, but the car has never performed this well. I’m grateful to have been part of bringing the car to this level. Here, the day starts much later, which completely changes the rhythm and balance, and besides that, it’s cold. Maybe that’s why we did so well, as we struggle more in hotter climates. When the car performs like this, you feel great. For the upcoming races, now that the championship is decided, we’ll try to fight for the best possible positions and enjoy ourselves.”
*Carlos Sainz (3rd, Ferrari)*: “I expected to be quite strong on medium tires, but they only lasted 8-9 laps for me. From that point on, I just tried to minimize the damage; I didn’t feel comfortable or strong. I wanted to be faster to fight for the win with George, but we didn’t have the potential today. We bring home a podium, which isn’t what we expected, but it’s the best we could achieve today. I hoped Las Vegas would bring me some luck after what happened last year with the manhole cover. I’ll take the podium, but at the same time, I was looking at every manhole to try to avoid them. I think this race provided a great show, and I can’t wait to return in the future. Charles and I have been battling for years; we find ourselves wheel-to-wheel, if not every weekend, at least every two or three races. We’re both very competitive and close in pace, always fighting each other. I don’t think I could have done better than 3rd or 4th today, but it is what it is. We’ll keep pushing to maintain good momentum in the next races.”
Leave a Reply