Russell wins LV Grand Prix; Verstappen clinches F1 title — PHOTOS
Formula One driver George Russell was still scratching his head, trying to figure out why his car was so fast after three practice sessions and three rounds of qualifying leading up to the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Russell was more intrigued to find out if his car had enough speed to stay up front for Saturday night’s 50-lap race. It turns out his Mercedes had more than enough.
The 26-year-old British driver started from the pole and led every lap in a dominant effort to win the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday night on the Strip. Mercedes claimed a 1-2 finish with Lewis Hamilton finishing second, 7.313 seconds behind Russell.
“I was just waiting for something to happen,” Russell said. “The two races I’ve been on pole before, it’s always been chaos. I felt confident here, I had a good gap, but I’m just waiting for something to happen and it didn’t. So I guess luck had turned.”
Verstappen clinches
Russell wasn’t the only driver celebrating late Saturday. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished fifth and claimed enough points in the race to clinch his fourth consecutive F1 world title.
Verstappen (403 points) will leave Las Vegas with a 63-point lead over Lando Norris (340 points) with a maximum of 60 points available in the final two races in the F1 season. Norris needed to finish in front of Verstappen on Saturday to keep his slim hopes at the title alive, but he finished sixth.
“It’s been a long season,” Verstappen said. “We started off amazing. It was almost like we were cruising, but then we had a tough run. But as a team, we kept it together. We kept working on improvements. I’m proud of everyone.”
Verstappen qualified fifth and moved up to as high as second place but fell back late in the race. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Verstappen during the race to not put up too much of a fight and focus on the bigger picture of the championship.
“To stand here as a four-time world champion is something that I never thought was possible,” Verstappen said. “At this moment, I’m just feeling relieved in a way, but also very proud.”
Russell was hardly challenged and led by as many as 10 seconds midway through the race. Hamilton, who started 10th, made a late charge and cut Russell’s 10-second lead in half, but lost time when he overdrove a corner in the final laps.
The win is Russell’s second on the season. He appeared to have won the Belgian Grand Prix in July but was disqualified because his car did not meet the minimum weight requirement in the postrace inspection.
‘A dream weekend’
If there was one issue for Russell, it’s that he has to adjust his travel arrangements to get home.
“I was planning on flying in a couple of hours, but I’m definitely not getting on that flight,” Russell said. “I’m going to enjoy this evening with all of my team. It’s been a dream weekend. I don’t know why we’ve been so quick, but I’m just riding this wave right now.”
Hamilton was the fastest in the first two practice sessions Thursday but qualified 10th on Friday after he locked up his tires during a run in the final qualifying session.
“If I’d done my job yesterday, it would have been a breeze,” Hamilton said. “It’s OK. I had fun coming from the back from 10th. The team did a fantastic job.”
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. finished third, 11.906 seconds behind Russell after starting second. Sainz had a forgettable start to last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix when he hit a manhole cover at the beginning of the first practice session that damaged his car and gave him a 10-place starting grid penalty for last year’s race.
Saturday’s result helped Ferrari cut into McLaren’s lead in the constructors standings. McLaren (608 points) has a 24-point lead over Ferrari (584) with two races remaining.
“I was not comfortable with the car, not strong today,” Sainz said. “I wish I would have been a bit quicker and would have been fighting with George for the win, but we just simply didn’t have it in ourselves.”
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.