Las Vegas GP 2024: Russell wins, Verstappen takes fourth title

George Russell won the Las Vegas Grand Prix from pole position, leading a Mercedes one-two on the Strip circuit and finishing 7.313 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who had started 10th. Carlos Sainz was third for Ferrari. Behind them, Max Verstappen finished fifth, one place ahead of Lando Norris, and that was enough to make him a four-time world champion with two rounds to spare.

How Russell won in Las Vegas

Russell got away cleanly, but Charles Leclerc made the better start: from fourth he went past Pierre Gasly and Sainz through the first two corners and spent the opening laps hunting the Mercedes, nearly getting by at Turn 14 on lap 4. Then his medium tyres faded and the Ferrari slid back through the order. Russell made his first stop for hards on lap 13 and kept the lead.

In cold, slippery conditions most of the field stopped twice. Russell was about 10 seconds clear at half distance and managed the rest. Gasly, third on the grid for Alpine and running in the points, pulled in after 15 laps reporting no power, with smoke coming from the back of his car. Alex Albon's Williams was retired after 25 laps. The official classification lists a power unit problem for both.

Russell vs Hamilton and the other teammate duels

Mercedes. Hamilton topped Q2, then made mistakes on both of his Q3 runs and ended up 10th. On Sunday he had the pace to make up for it: he passed Oscar Piastri, then Norris, then Verstappen after the second round of stops, and cut Russell's lead to around five seconds before it settled. Russell still won both sides of their head-to-head, and Hamilton now trails 5–17 in qualifying and 6–12 in races in our count.

Ferrari. Sainz qualified on the front row, 0.098 seconds off pole, with Leclerc fourth. Leclerc's early attack cost him his tyres, and he finished fourth, 2.377 seconds behind his teammate. Sainz had his own scare on lap 28, when the team called him in and then told him to stay out as he reached the pit entry. His radio reply: "Wake up guys!" He beat Leclerc twice this weekend, but Leclerc vs Sainz still reads 13–8 in qualifying and 12–7 in races for Leclerc on F1 Duels.

McLaren. Norris out-qualified Piastri by the smallest margin of any pairing this weekend, and the Australian then took a five-second penalty for a false start, served at his first stop. Piastri finished seventh, eight seconds behind Norris, who pitted late for softs to take the fastest-lap point. Norris vs Piastri now stands 18–4 in qualifying and 15–7 in races for Norris.

Red Bull. Sergio Pérez went out in Q1 in 16th and started 15th. He took the last point in 10th after passing Kevin Magnussen and Liam Lawson in a single move at Turn 14. Verstappen's season against him in our count: 21–1 in qualifying and 19–0 in races.

What it means for the championship

Verstappen's task was simple: stay ahead of Norris. He kept the McLaren behind through the first corners, stopped on lap 12 and rejoined ahead of both Ferraris and Norris, and ran second at half distance. In the closing laps he stopped fighting, letting Sainz through and losing fourth to Leclerc on lap 47, and still finished more than 24 seconds clear of Norris. He leaves Nevada on 403 points to Norris's 340, with Leclerc third on 319.

The constructors' title is closer. McLaren lead Ferrari 608 to 584 with Red Bull on 555, and the one-two still leaves Mercedes a distant fourth on 425. Two rounds remain, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Every verdict from the weekend is on the Las Vegas GP duels page.