CNN
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Max Verstappen claimed his fourth consecutive Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship at a breathtaking Las Vegas Grand Prix as George Russell took victory for Mercedes.

Verstappen went into the weekend knowing that all he had to do to win the title was finish ahead of his championship rival, Lando Norris. The reigning champion took the advantage in qualifying and started the race in fifth, ahead of the McLaren driver in P6.

The two drivers sat side by side on the opening lap, but the Red Bull driver maintained his lead and never looked back. He finished the race in P5 with Norris behind him in sixth place, making his championship lead officially insurmountable with just two races remaining in the season.

Verstappen joins Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel as the only drivers in F1 history to have won at least four drivers’ titles, further establishing himself as one of the greatest drivers of all time.

“What a season. Four times. Thank you guys,” the Dutchman said to his team over the radio after the checkered flag. “Thank you to everyone. I mean, it was a little bit harder than last year, but we got through it and gave it everything.”

After a titanic battle with Hamilton for the championship in 2021, Verstappen captured the title in 2022 before winning 19 of 22 races the following year to win the championship by a margin of almost 300 points.

It looked like he would romp to another title unchallenged after winning seven of the first ten races, but Red Bull’s pace and trademark dominance faded as the chasing pack, especially McLaren, started to catch up.

Verstappen won only one of the next twelve races, but gained enough points to maintain his lead over Norris over the course of the season.

“It’s been a long season and of course we started great, it was almost like cruising, but then we had a tough run,” he said after the race. “But as a team we kept it together, we kept working on improvements and we got the win. Incredibly proud of everyone for what they have done for me.

“I think in a way, of course, I still prefer last season; I really enjoyed it, but I think this season has definitely taught me a lot of lessons. I am very proud of how we handled this as a team. So in a way that makes it very special and a beautiful season.”

It was a disappointing race for Norris, who put up a brave challenge for much of the campaign, but ultimately couldn’t dislodge the seemingly indomitable Dutchman.

“Congratulations to Max, I’m disappointed not to be there anymore, but Max deserved to win,” said Norris. “He had a better season than me, he deserved it more than anyone, Max just has no weakness.

“If he has the best car, he dominates and if he doesn’t have the best car, he is still there, always, always there to make your life hard and difficult.”

Russell qualified for the Grand Prix on pole position and – apart from a brief skirmish with Charles Leclerc early in the race – was in complete control for much of the race.

It is the third win of Russell’s career and second of the season, after taking P1 in Austria earlier this year. The Briton outlined his plans to celebrate in Sin City after the race.

“I was planning to fly in a few hours, but there’s no way I’m going on that flight!” he laughed. “I am going to enjoy this evening with my entire team.”

His teammate Hamilton compensated for a disappointing qualifying by storming through the field and rising from tenth on the grid to P2, securing a one-two for Mercedes. With Hamilton’s record-extending 202nd podium finish, he has now stood on the podium at 36 different circuits, per Sky Sports.

“It was a dream of a weekend,” Russell said. “I don’t know how we got so fast, but I’m just riding this wave right now. To achieve victory here, pole position, a dominant weekend, a one-two with Lewis too… we couldn’t have chosen a better place to make this possible.”

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took P3 with his teammate Charles Leclerc close behind. The pair swapped places several times and also fought against Verstappen in a race full of overtaking actions.

In the Constructors’ Championship, Ferrari closed the gap on McLaren to just 24 points, while Red Bull is 53 points behind, meaning everything is still left to play in the final two races in Qatar and the UAE.