Max Verstappen won his fourth consecutive Formula 1 World Championship title under the lights of the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday.
The 27-year-old Dutchman came home fifth in a race won by Mercedes’ George Russell, becoming the sixth man after Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Juan Manuel Fangio, Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost to claim four championships.
McLaren’s Lando Norris, who was Verstappen’s only competitor for the title, finished sixth.
“Oh my God, what a season, four times, thank you guys,” Verstappen told Red Bull on the radio. “It’s a little more difficult than last year, but we made it through. Thank you guys very much.”
Russell came home 7.313 seconds behind seven-time world champion and Mercedes teammate Hamilton, who started from 10th on the grid.
The Ferrari cars of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc occupied third and fourth places, respectively.
Norris, in sixth place, was 43 seconds behind his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.
Nico Hulkenberg, the Haas driver, finished eighth, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, the right-back driver, and Sergio Perez, in the second Red Bull car.
Norris, who needed to edge Verstappen by three points to keep his title hopes alive, was awarded a bonus point for the fastest lap, but the challenge was over.
On a dry, windy and milder night in the Nevada desert, the air and track temperatures reached 18 degrees, with Russell making a perfect start from fourth place at the front to move up with Leclerc, from fourth place, to second place off the grid.
All but Fernando Alonso started on medium tyres, with the Spaniard using soft tires which lasted only four laps, while at the front, Leclerc made an early attempt to overtake Russell and Verstappen who swept Pierre Gasly into fourth place.