Max Verstappen takes F1 2024 title after what George Russell did in Las Vegas

Max Verstappen has been crowned a four-time Formula 1 champion, finally quashing the challenge of Lando Norris. The Dutchman had to outpace his McLaren rival at the Las Vegas Grand Prix to secure the title with two rounds remaining, and he did so with an impressive drive while Norris struggled for speed.

Verstappen now joins the ranks of Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton as the fifth driver in the sport's history to win titles in four consecutive seasons. He also matches Vettel and Alain Prost on the all-time list of drivers with four championship victories.

Despite sealing the deal in Las Vegas, Verstappen will likely remember his stunning victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix earlier in November as the game-changer. Until the Sao Paulo race, Norris had been steadily closing the gap.

The Brit was handed a golden opportunity to significantly reduce the Red Bull racer's championship lead when he qualified on pole in Brazil while Verstappen started 17th. However, the latter delivered one of his career-best performances in the rain to win, while Norris fell back to sixth.

This left Norris' title hopes hanging by a thread and, even if Verstappen hadn't clinched the title in Las Vegas, it was highly unlikely that Norris would have been able to close the gap with just two more races left in the 2024 season, reports the Mirror.

However, his title hopes were finally dashed in Las Vegas. Verstappen started fifth on the grid, just ahead of Norris, who had a slim chance of keeping his championship dreams alive if he could outpace and outscore his rival.

But it quickly became apparent at the race's start that he simply didn't have the speed to do so. Verstappen swiftly overtook Pierre Gasly and the two Ferraris to secure second place in the race, trailing only pole-sitter George Russell, who was showing impressive speed in his Mercedes.

Norris would have loved to replicate such a performance but lacked the necessary speed. Within the first 20 laps, McLaren CEO Zak Brown conceded that they couldn't match the pace of teams like Mercedes and Ferrari, signalling the end of their drivers' title challenge.

Towards the race's end, Verstappen began to slow down and fell out of podium contention. However, finishing fifth was enough to make it mathematically impossible for Norris to catch up, leading to celebrations among the Red Bull team as they donned special T-shirts and the Dutch driver swapped his usual cap for one commemorating his achievement.