Following a legendary win in the rain in Brazil in Formula 1’s last race, it wasn’t much of a question as to if Max Verstappen would win the championship, just when.
Once the Las Vegas Grand Prix began, the question seemed pretty well answered.
Needing to finish ahead of Lando Norris, Verstappen never fell behind the McLaren outside of pit cycles and finished fifth on the track. Norris could only muster sixth on a night when Ferrari and Mercedes were both faster than both of the drivers in title contention.
The moment Max Verstappen retained his crown 👑#F1 #LasVegasGP pic.twitter.com/KG5eoheDoY
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 24, 2024
Only five other drivers in the 75-year history of F1 have won four or more championships. Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton both hold the record at seven. The great Juan Manuel Fangio won five in the 1950s.
Alain Prost won four in spite of rarely being the lead driver on a given team. Finally, Sebastian Vettel won four straight championships in a run with Red Bull in the early 2010s that mirrored Verstappen’s.
When Vettel won his fourth straight championship for Red Bull in 2013, it came after one of the greatest runs of domination a driver has ever had in a season. Nine straight wins capped off the season that year for the German.
Now, 11 years later, Verstappen’s fourth straight championship for Red Bull came in a season in which the team seems set on finishing third in the Constructors’ Championship.
If he does not win at Qatar or Abu Dhabi to close out the year, Verstappen would have won just one race in the last 14 races in the season. This is a mark not seen since Keke Rosburg won just one-in-16 in 1982 on his way to the championship.
With that in mind, Verstappen could only be reflective on his journey so far after the toughest challenge of a season he has had since his infamous battles with Hamilton in 2021.
“It’s been a long season,” Verstappen said in a podium interview session with both actor Terry Crews and 2009 champion Jenson Button interviewing him. “It was amazing, almost cruising. But then, we had a tough run, and the team kept together, working on improvements, and we pulled it off. Couldn’t be prouder of everyone, what they’ve done for me, and to stand here as a four-time world champion is something I never thought was possible.
“[I never thought I’d be winning four championships], I was just happy to be there. Getting wins,…
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