Formula One - George Russell hits the jackpot in Vegas

George Russell takes the victory on the streets of Las Vegas, as Max Verstappen is officially crowned the 2024 Drivers Champion after beating rival Lando Norris.

Photo: XPB Images

QUALIFYING

Yuki Tsunoda delivered an impressive lap during qualifying one, which eliminated Sergio Perez in an unsurprising exit of Q1. Meanwhile, Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll was only able to complete one lap, which was good enough for twentieth, after he was forced to change his ERS system post free practice three. George Russell kept Mercedes on top, followed by Leclerc and Piastri.

Out in Q1: Perez, Alonso, Albon, Bottas, Stroll

Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu achieved his career-best qualifying position, finishing eleventh, but narrowly missed out on getting through to qualifying two. A massive crash for Franco Colapinto at turn sixteen caused significant damage to his Williams, with tires detaching as well as the rear wing destroyed. His car hit the inside wall before vaulting into the exit wall, leaving debris scattered across the straight. Lewis Hamilton topped the session, with Sainz and Russell following.

Out in Q2: Ocon, Magnussen, Zhou, Colapinto, Lawson

During qualifying three, the McLaren’s of Piastri and Norris were quick early on, while Leclerc slotted in third. Carlos Sainz started to set purple sectors, managing to grab pole position momentarily, before George Russell outpaced him by just under a tenth, with Lewis Hamilton making a costly mistake and unable to improve his position, settling for P10. Gasly was able to set a time good enough for third.

Top 10: Russell, Sainz, Gasly, Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, Tsunoda, Piastri, Hulkenberg, Hamilton

Photo: Zak Mauger

RACE

Prior to the race start, Franco Colapinto, who was involved in a heavy shunt during Q2 was deemed fit to race, however the Williams mechanics had a large task ahead of them to rebuild the car in time for the race start.

As the lights went out, George Russell made a great start from pole position, while Charles Leclerc managed to get past Pierre Gasly and his teammate Sainz for second place. Liam Lawson was able to outmanoeuvre the experienced Kevin Magnussen in the midfield battles, and by lap four, Leclerc closed the gap to Russell marginally, initiating an exciting battle for the lead. Max Verstappen, who started in fifth position quickly gained position over Gasly for fourth.

Oscar Piastri was noted for a false start, which later incurred a five second penalty for him, while a few laps later Yuki Tsunoda made an aggressive move on Gasly, which was defended sharply, leaving Lewis Hamilton to gain the time and put some more pressure on the VCARB. Leclerc and Norris pitted very early on lap nine, trying to undercut their rivals, while the tyre compounds struggled with wear and graining.

Photo: Zak Mauger

On lap ten, Verstappen overtook Sainz for P2 before pitting, and rejoined the track just behind Valtteri Bottas, but ahead of Colapinto. Three laps later, Russell pitted from the lead, keeping position on return.

Moments later, Pierre Gasly reported low power while in twelfth position, and on lap sixteen his engine blew, with Gasly coming straight into the pits to retire the car after an impressive third position start. Data would later reveal that the top speed achieved by the Alpine caused a fatal push beyond the rev limiter, causing severe damage to the internal combustion engine. Hamilton was making good progress on the field when he overtook Norris into sixth position, and one lap later both got past Perez into fifth. Perez was on a hugely different tyre strategy, and the passes were not battled.

Ferrari began to tell their drivers to swap positions on lap twenty-eight, but Sainz ignored the instruction by staying out on track after being told to box. On the next lap, Sainz threw a dummy on Hamilton, by following the pit entry line, but stayed out, causing a lot of confusion for the teams and spectators. Moments later, Verstappen made a rare mistake at turn seven, which saw him compromise his fight for podium contention.

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

With the end of the race approaching quickly, Sainz overtook Verstappen for third, while Leclerc attacked the Red Bull gaining the position too. Lando Norris, without a possibility to gain positions over Max Verstappen, decided to pit in order to make an attempt to snatch the fastest lap point from Red Bull or Ferrari, successfully doing so, while keeping position. 

George Russell finishes, and takes victory in the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, winning by seven seconds over his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who claims another podium finish. Carlos Sainz rounds out the podium, with Max Verstappen finishing fifth, ahead of his rival Lando Norris. The Dutchman secured his fourth consecutive World Drivers Champion.

The Constructors championship will continue to Qatar and Abu Dhabi, which is still in contention between McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull, proving that Sergio Perez needs to increase his performance in order to benefit the team. 

DRIVER OF THE RACE

With unbeatable pace in qualifying, and a lights to flag victory on the streets of Las Vegas, George Russell takes our driver of the race, meanwhile Hamilton finds excellent pace and racecraft to gain positions from tenth to finish second.

FLOP OF THE RACE

Pierre Gasly and Alpine struggled in Las Vegas, with a forced retirement for Gasly, and Ocon in seventeenth, it shows a poor performance after such an incredible double podium result at São Paulo.

TWO TO GO - ONTO QATAR

With just two races to go, and an extra sprint race at Qatar, the constructors championship is still alive for McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull. Tyres will be a big question for Qatar, with McLaren hoping for the best results in order to solidify the championship.