Las Vegas Grand Prix: Max Verstappen set for fourth straight Formula 1 title in Sin City
The Dutchman just has to beat McLaren’s Lando Norris, who has to score 3 points more than the reigning champion to delay the inevitable
Max Verstappen will be Formula One world champion for the fourth year in a row if he beats Lando Norris in Las Vegas this weekend.
McLaren’s Norris must score three points more than his Red Bull rival – requiring at least a top eight finish even if Verstappen draws a blank – to delay the inevitable for one more week and continue the title ‘battle’ to Qatar.
Verstappen has a 62-point lead with 60 to be won after Las Vegas, meaning the Dutch driver can lose two points to Norris and still secure the title on wins given he has eight to the Briton’s three.
The reigning champion won on the gaudy, floodlit Strip last season, despite a five-second penalty and later collision, to complete a US triple, while Norris hit the wall on lap three and retired.
“This is the final push for everyone,” said Verstappen, who would be only the sixth driver to win at least four titles, going into the season’s last run of three races on successive weekends.
“We performed well here last year and it is a really fast circuit, with long straights and a lot of opportunities to overtake and go racing.”
Norris, sixth in Brazil on November 3 despite starting on pole position in a race won by Verstappen from 17th on the grid, also has the constructors’ championship to think about with McLaren 36 points clear of Ferrari at the top.
