It wasn't a surprise, but a surprising double success and world championship inauguration were achieved at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
George Russell got off to a perfect start, but Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly were ahead of Charles Leclerc in two corners. Max Verstappen also made a solid start, but got caught in traffic, so he could “only” close to fourth place. We soon reached the first pit stop, Fernando Alonso’s soft compound start didn’t really work, so the Spaniard was forced to change on the fourth lap. Meanwhile, Sainz took second position back from Leclerc and would have followed Russell. By then, however, the Briton had already built up an advantage for himself that it was clear that he would have more than enough for the rest of the race. Leclerc struggled, and Verstappen easily overtook him, who was naturally fighting not only for the best possible position, but also for him to be crowned world champion. Gasy, on the other hand, had no more to fight for, the Alpine was smoking under him…
By this time, the entire field had gone through pit stops, the fronts had stiffened, and it was clear that two changes would be the tactic. Only the Mercedes team could talk about relevant tire management, everyone else was constantly struggling with grip and getting the tires into the operating range. In the end, Mercedes George Russell Lewis Hamilton won the Las Vegas Grand Prix with ease, ahead of the Scuderia Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.
But, perhaps more importantly, Max Verstappen made sports history and defended his title, becoming world champion for the fourth time behind the wheel of Red Bull Racing.
