Max Verstappen wins his fourth World Championship title in a row in the third-last race of the season in Las Vegas. The race, however, was dominated by Mercedes: George Russell and Lewis Hamilton celebrated a one-two victory.
George Russell had already dominated qualifying the day before. The Briton controlled the race. He benefited from the fact that team-mate Lewis Hamilton had to start the race from far back (10th on the grid). Mercedes celebrated its first one-two victory since the Brazilian Grand Prix more than two years ago.
Mercedes dominated in Las Vegas like in the very best times. They set the fastest time in every practice session. And they ensured that four different constructors won at least four races, a first in Formula 1.
Max Verstappen's world championship title was no longer in danger. Lando Norris was permanently behind the Red Bull driver. Norris had absolutely no chance of making up any points on Verstappen. Verstappen and Norris finished the race in exactly the same position from which they started.
Only Juan Manuel Fangio in a Mercedes (1954 to 1957), Michael Schumacher in a Ferrari (2000 to 2005), Sebastian Vettel in a Red Bull (2010 to 2013) and Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes (2017 to 2020) have won four consecutive titles before Verstappen.
The Sauber team also failed to score any points in the third-to-last race. Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu was in 9th place at one point, but finished the race in 13th place, just over 10 seconds behind the points.
The remaining two race weekends in Qatar (December 1), where the last sprint of the year is also on the program, and Abu Dhabi (December 8) are still about winning the constructors' championship. Ferrari extended its lead over McLaren and Red Bull Racing in Las Vegas.
SDA