Max Verstappen won his fourth championship in a row at the Las Vegas Grand Prix and finished fifth on Saturday, ahead of title rival Lando Norris.

The result gave 27-year-old Verstappen an unassailable lead of 63 points over McLaren’s Norris with two races to spare.

Mercedes won the race with a one-two led by George Russell.

Verstappen said afterwards: “It’s been a long season and we started great. It was almost cruising and then we had a tough run. But as a team we stayed together and kept working on improvements.

“I’m incredibly proud of everyone for what they’ve done for me and to stand here as a four-time world champion is something I never thought possible, so right now I feel relieved in a way, but also very sad. proud.”

Speaking about the challenges this season, he said: “As a person it is sometimes very challenging and I had to be calm. In a way – I still prefer last season, I enjoyed it a lot – but I think this season learned a lot, lessons that I am proud of and that we have had as a team, so that makes it very special and a great season.”

Verstappen has now moved into elite company, joining Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton as drivers with four championships.

The 27-year-old Verstappen has achieved four consecutive victories, something that all but Prost managed within that club.

Verstappen won seven of the first 10 races this season, but a mid-season dip in form for Red Bull has coincided with the opposite for McLaren, which has taken five wins since Norris’ first win at the Miami Grand Prix.

Between the end of June and the end of October, Verstappen achieved just three podium finishes, although the healthy championship lead he had built up at the start of the year stood him in good stead.

A defining moment came at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on November 3, when Verstappen delivered what might be the best performance of his career, winning from 17th on the grid in a rainy event in which Norris struggled after the start. in pole position.

Brazil gave Verstappen the chance to wrap things up in Las Vegas.

Verstappen now enters 2025 looking to emulate Schumacher by winning five championships in a row.