Race Highlights | 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix

If Max beats Lando tonight, he's champion of the world. Here are the lights. We're underway in Las Vegas and racing to turn number one with George Russell holding the lead. The battle is between Gasly and Sainz and they open the door for Charles Leclerc to go from 4th potentially to 2nd. There's no grip offline. Ferrari versus Ferrari and around the outside to Tate P2. Goes the man 4th on the grid. Charles Leclerc roars up to 2nd. George Russell holds the lead. Down goes Sainz. Down goes Gasly. Verstappen is still ahead of Lando Norris having left the line but it's Russell P1. It was very close behind as well with Norris. There's Yuki Tsunoda in there with Oskar Piastri as well. But crucial for Ferrari. They've got ahead of Gasly and that might allow a bit of a buffer back to the main contenders behind. Verstappen stuck behind Gasly for now. It reminds me a little bit of Montreal. The middle part of the lap as Charles Leclerc goes for the move. Oh, there was always going to be an opportunity for multiple overtakes there. Russell defends P1 but Gasly could not defend P4. It's game on at the front of the field. We roar through the 17th and final corner of the racetrack. Look at this scene between Mercedes and Ferrari separated by hardly anything. There's no grip around the outside surely. And George Russell stays ahead but he's under massive pressure from the Scarlet Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton fighting his way past the McLaren or at least trying to. Terrific pitches at enormous speed. The Australian driver on the left-hand side as out front Carlos Sainz has fought his way up to second position. Charles Leclerc has gone from contending for the lead of this Grand Prix to losing second position. And the man from the front row who lost second at the start has reclaimed it. Wow, it's a case of keeping the tyres in the window. If you fall out, you chew through them quickly. And having looked like he was going to take the lead of the Grand Prix a couple of laps ago, Charles Leclerc is now going to tumble off the podium. Through goes the championship leader Max Verstappen up to third. One Ferrari moves up to second, one drops down to fourth. It's Mercedes ahead of Ferrari ahead of Red Bull. Now the podium contenders still four in the battle for the win. Norris gets past Gasly. He has moved up to fifth position. It's Russell, then Sainz, then Verstappen. Well, we had a slightly mixed up grid because of qualifying in very low conditions. It's still only 17 degrees track temperature out there. And Hamilton's making use of these conditions. Charles Leclerc has been called in to the pits. Lewis Hamilton is gaining another place. Tenth on the grid to seventh in the Grand Prix at the moment. This is such a pleasure to ride on board with Verstappen. And when you're sitting in that cockpit, he's going to blast past Sainz. This is going to be a slam dunk move when he opens the DRS. And Sainz just has to wait in all the apexes to actually rotate the car. Interesting comparison between the straight line speed of the Ferrari without DRS. Took a while for Verstappen to get by. Sainz will be pitting. He's got no tyres left. Lewis Hamilton has claimed fourth position. Low on power, low on power. Everything's looking OK for us. We hit the limiter. I have no power! It's an expiring power unit in the back of his Alpine. And after being one of the stars of the qualifying hour, the man who started third on the grid comes into the pits to retire. Carlos Sainz sweeping past Sergio Perez up to third place. Perez yet to stop. This is more important though. This is a straight fight. That's Lewis Hamilton late on the brakes. That's Lewis Hamilton past Lando Norris. And that is for sixth position. We are reaching our point for the leaders to make their second stop. And Sainz is being told to swap positions. That's one thing to issue the instruction. Might be another thing to let both cars by. How does he do this? Through goes Leclerc. That was well driven from Carlos Sainz. What a tough position he was put in. Leclerc goes through. Sainz hangs on to fourth. But only shortly for a few metres does he peel into the pits. He does ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Synchronised swimming. He's gone deep! He's gone on! And he's cut the line as he does so. That was a strange one. And Sainz just carries straight on. Now he pits and that's going to cost Sainz a lot. What happened? We're not ready? Wake up guys! Come on! The team have obviously said stay out, stay out. And so he's reacted to the team. That is a major mistake for Ferrari. And now Hamilton is well up the road. Three seconds up the road as Sainz finally gets back onto the track. Charles Leclerc has been called to the pits from second place. This is now the battle for P2. Lewis Hamilton's got the speed. Look at the speed he has got. 216mph. And he moves up to third. That will become second. And it will shake out to be a Mercedes 1-2. No contest between the two greats. Verstappen and Hamilton. Now one Ferrari with cold tyres. One Ferrari with fired up tyres. One Ferrari with a fired up driver. And Sainz will get the inside line and fourth position as he goes past Charles Leclerc. These two have been passing and repassing all day. Oh, Perez trying to go past two of them in one corner and doing so. It's been a terrible season. Those are his words. But he absolutely roared by there. Two for the price of one to get past Lawson and Magnussen with one of the moves of the Grand Prix so far. Brave on the brakes. And he probably didn't expect both places to be up for opportunity. And then manages somehow to find his way through without contact. DRS open for the rapid Ferraris. Can Verstappen do anything about it? We know he's going to fight it. But can he fight it? Here we go on the brakes for Carlos Sainz to get by. And Verstappen could not defend when it came to the braking. One Ferrari goes through. Hülkenberg trying to go past up to eighth position to take a point away from his Japanese rival. Crucial for Haas to be best of the rest if they want to claim sixth position. Next car to lap for George Russell is Liam Lawson. Then Lance Stroll. Then you get to a battle to the inside. And claiming the position is Charles Leclerc. The defense for the man who will win the title in a few laps time is over for the Ferraris. Both Sainz and Leclerc go through. Out of the penultimate corner. He's left the entire field behind. He'll convert. He's pole positioned to victory. The British driver will look up and see the chequered flag first. He punches the air as George Russell wins the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The third time in Formula 1 he's taken the chequered flag. It's second place for Lewis Hamilton. Carlos Sainz will complete the podium. But further back, the Dutch driver will retain his crown. Max Verstappen is a four-time Formula 1 world champion. Max Verstappen is the champion of 2024. And after a mid-season spent in limitation, he was burdened until the brilliance of Brazil. He now has the title in his grasp once again. In 2024, Max Verstappen would not be moved. That is four in a row, Max. Four in a row. Congratulations. Oh, my God. Another season, four times. Thank you, guys. Thank you to everyone. I mean, it was a little bit more difficult than last year, but we pulled through and we gave it all. Thank you so much, guys. The day that Verstappen soars to four is Las Vegas under the lights. After the brilliance in Brazil, just needed a fifth place and to beat his nearest rival. The driver who currently has a car third in the Constructors' Championship has taken the driver's crown again.