Las Vegas Grand Prix Takeaways: Verstappen owns The Strip
F1 NewsWednesday, 27 November 2024 at 10:57
While Mercedes took a dominant one-two at the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, it was Max Verstappen who stole the show after securing his fourth consecutive Formula 1 title.
Mercedes surprised everyone, even themselves, with the pace they showed the moment the W15 turned a wheel around Las Vegas, topping all three practice sessions, Lewis Hamilton the first two, and George Russell the third.
Russell went on to take pole while Hamilton messed up big time and qualified tenth, and while the seven-time F1 champion finished second after an impressive drive through the field, he was visibly livid post race and during the podium celebrations, but unfortunately, he has only himself to blame for throwing away what would have been pole #105 and win #106.
But despite the dominant show that Russell put on, he was the driver we saw the least on the TV feed as he sailed in the lead unchallenged while the focus was somewhere else.
While Hamilton's drive from tenth to second was worth following, it was Max Verstappen's race that was under the spotlight as to where he would finish relative to his title rival Lando Norris and whether he would pull out a gap big enough to secure his fourth title in Vegas.
He eventually did and is now 63 points clear of Norris, a gap that means the Briton is now mathematically out of the running for a maiden F1 championship.
And while Mercedes were the winners, it was Verstappen who was the real star of F1's Vegas weekend, so our first takeaway from the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix is reserved for our sport's latest quadruple F1 champion.
Verstappen, a truly deserving four-time F1 champion
One can only imagine the satisfaction Verstappen felt when he crossed the line fifth in the Las Vegas Grand Prix to clinch his fourth F1 drivers' crown.
It has been a turbulent title-defending campaign for the Dutchman having to operate in a minefield even before the season started with the Christian Horner sexting scandal, which his father Jos took a part in, and he was stuck in between a rock and a hard place as a result.
Adrian Newey leaving, as well as other major team personnel, did not make life easier.
However, Max did what he does best: put on the helmet, block all the surrounding noise, and drive an F1 car as fast as he can.
Which brings us to the car. The RB20 started the season as the best car on the F1 grid, but a wrong upgrade at Imola ruined it, not to mention the "Magic Brake" that was taken away.
With McLaren hitting the sweet spot with their MCL38 following an upgrade in Miami, Verstappen had to race while constantly looking over his shoulder for Norris, who was on the attack.
But he delivered consistently and maximized all the opportunities that came his way while McLaren and Norris squandered away numerous points and opportunities.
He may have had some unflattering moments; Mexico City springs to mind, but he was otherwise formidable all season long with his drive from 17th on the grid to win the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in the most treacherous of conditions—the of his season and the mark of a great champion.
He destroyed Norris that weekend and left Brazil having one hand on the championship trophy, only to grasp it one race later.
While Verstappen, like many other dominant champions, was subject to the ridiculous saying: He's dominating because of the car.
This season he won without one and made sure people admitted that he was a truly deserving four-time F1 champion. Just watch this video, classic Max:
Mercedes win but don't know why
Mercedes are definitely happy with the one-two finish at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but the fact they don't know why that happened is plain sad, especially for a team who has won eight consecutive F1 constructors' titles.
The simple explanation was that the W15 enjoys the cold conditions that prevailed in on the Las Vegas Strip, but unless F1 decides to go racing in the Arctic Circle, their car's strength is of no use.
Nevertheless, a win is a win, especially when you look at the manner in which Russell delivered it. He beat Hamilton once again when the latter appeared to be a favorite for pole but dropped the ball.
In the race, an area where Russell used to be error-prone, the future Mercedes team leader kept his head down, protected his lead, and fended off early attacks from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, and from there on, barring a freak incident, the race was in the bag.
A truly dominant and clean drive from Russell and a good sign for his team that he can lead them once Hamilton leaves for Ferrari in 2025.
As for Hamilton, and following the disparaging statements from Toto Wolff recently about his "shelf life", pole and a win in Las Vegas would have been the perfect response to the Austrian, who, for the record, tried to retract what he said, but we know he meant them...
The end of the season cannot come soon enough for Lewis.
McLaren: The drivers' championship is lost, is the constructors' next?
While Red Bull have all but failed to defend their constructors' title in 2024, they have managed to secure Verstappen's fourth F1 championship.
However, McLaren, who have watched Norris' title aspirations evaporate since Sao Paulo, are now under pressure from Ferrari in the race for the constructors' crown.
There will be no hiding for McLaren, who have enjoyed having the best car on the grid for most of the season, but they have failed to put that into good use.
The manner in which they managed their drivers did not reflect strong leadership, and I say this despite being a big fan of Andrea Stella.
Norris should've been given the #1 status as soon as there was a hint of a chance for him to fight for the title, but that did not happen.
Then we have the strategy errors, which cost them dearly, especially as Ferrari found their feet with the SF-24 since Austin and went on a winning run.
And while Ferrari were expected to dominate in Las Vegas, McLaren were lucky that Mercedes were the fastest and Ferrari struggled, but despite that, Red beat Papaya.
Ferrari are now only 24 points behind McLaren in the F1 constructors' championship with two races remaining, so the heat will be on the Woking squad.
In a season when their car was consistently the best over most of the season, ending up with no silverware will not be something to be proud of, nor will it be looked upon favorably by the big wigs at McLaren.
Las Vegas Grand Prix Quick Hits
- Ferrari were not as they were expected to be in Las Vegas, but what made matters worse is that their pit wall decisions reminded us of their historic shenanigans in that area.
Carlos Sainz was dictating the strategy, and you can't blame him in a way, and then he defied instructions not to attack Leclerc, which left the latter fuming after the race.
Under Fred Vasseur, Ferrari's race management has been steadily improving, but their Vegas showing was a setback. - A shoutout for Pierre Gasly for his great qualifying effort. It was sad to see his race end that way it did with a smoking pink car.
- Franco Colapinto did not do his reputation any good with his qualifying crash. However, it was great to see him walk away from the 50G crash.
- A decent job from Fernando Alonso, dragging that hapless Aston Martin AMR24 to finish 11th.
- What a pass that was from Sergio Perez on Liam Lawson and Kevin Magnussen. Too bad the Mexican did not show those skills we all know he has more often this year.
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