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• The recent Las Vegas Grand Prix marks 22 rounds of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship
• Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen was named the 2024 F1 Drivers’ Championship at the Las Vegas round
• McLaren still leads the 2024 F1 Constructors’ Championship with two rounds to go

The 22nd round of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship got underway on Sunday with the Las Vegas Grand Prix, held under lights at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit.

The win went to Mercedes-Benz AMG’s George Russell but the biggest smile was no doubt on the face of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, who scored enough points to secure the 2024 Drivers’ Championship title. Verstappen only had to finish ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, the only other driver still in contention, which the Red Bull driver did by finishing fifth, or one place ahead of his McLaren rival.

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen at the 2024 Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix – Photo via Getty Images

The title is the fourth consecutive for Verstappen, who now joins an elite group of drivers with four or more championships under their belts. Others include Alain Prost (four), Sebastian Vettel (four), Juan Manuel Fangio (five), Lewis Hamilton (seven), and Michael Schumacher (seven).

There are just two rounds remaining this season, and Norris is now in a battle for second with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. His points lead over Leclerc stands at 21 points.

Oscar Piastri (left) and Lando Norris

Norris’ McLaren team looks set to take home the Constructors’ Championship, thanks to the strong performance of both Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri this season, coupled with the poor performance of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. Norris has three wins under his belt, while Piastri has two. In contrast, Perez continues to struggle, which has led to Red Bull dropping to third in the Constructors’ Championship behind McLaren and Ferrari, even with Verstappen taking home eight wins thus far.

The 2024 season has also been marked by a lot of driver swaps. U.S. driver Logan Sargeant has been replaced at Williams for the remainder of the season by Franco Colapinto, who made his F1 debut six rounds ago in Italy and already scored some points. Colapinto doesn’t have a seat at Williams next year, though. The team has already confirmed current driver Alexander Albon will join Carlos Sainz at the squad next year. Sainz currently drives for Ferrari but will be replaced next season by Lewis Hamilton, whose seat at Mercedes will be filled by the fast but inexperienced Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Previously dominant Mercedes has had a mixed performance this season. Hamilton and teammate Russell have finished strongly in some rounds, ending their performance drought of the start of the current season and in the past few seasons, though both have had less than spectacular pace in the past few rounds.

A standout driver this season and potential future great is Oliver Bearman, a Ferrari reserve driver who managed six points in his debut at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and another point at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He filled in for Sainz at Ferrari at the Saudi round and Kevin Magnussen at Haas in Azerbaijan, and his impressive performance has won him a seat with Haas in 2025.

Oliver Bearman

Bearman will be joined at the American squad by Esteban Ocon, who leaves Alpine at the end of the current season, with his former seat getting filled by Jack Doohan. Bearman and Ocon will replace Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg. Magnussen is currently without a seat for next season, while Hülkenberg is set to join Sauber, which will become Audi in 2026.

Hülkenberg will be joined at Sauber by newcomer Gabriel Bortoleto. They will replace Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, both of whom are without seats next season. Neither driver has scored any points so far in 2024, nor has Sauber.

Gabriel Bortoleto – Photo via Sauber

Another driver who will be out next season is RB’s Daniel Ricciardo. The F1 veteran was the last of the finishers at the Singapore round, and was replaced by Liam Lawson for the remainder of the season. Lawson already participated in five F1 races in 2023, when he sat in for an injured Ricciardo at AlphaTauri, the team that was rebranded RB in 2024. He raced for the first time under the RB banner a few rounds ago at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, where he won his first points of the season. He also bagged some points at the Las Vegas race.

Looking ahead to the next season, Red Bull may not be the fastest team anymore. Red Bull’s pace has already declined since the middle of the season, and the team next season also loses star aerodynamicist Adrian Newey to Aston Martin. Hamilton driving for Ferrari is also a wild card.

2024 F1 Drivers’ Championship standings

1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing – 403 points
2) Lando Norris, McLaren – 340 points
3) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 319 points
4) Oscar Piastri, McLaren – 268 points
5) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari – 259 points
6) George Russell, Mercedes-Benz AMG – 217 points
7) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG – 208 points
8) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing – 152 points
9) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin – 62 points
10) Nico Hülkenberg, Haas – 35 points
11) Yuki Tsunoda, RB – 30 points
12) Pierre Gasly, Alpine – 26 points
13) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin – 24 points
14) Esteban Ocon, Alpine – 23 points
15) Kevin Magnussen, Haas – 14 points
16) Alexander Albon, Williams – 12 points
17) Daniel Ricciardo, RB – 12 points
18) Oliver Bearman, Ferrari – 7 points
19) Franco Colapinto, Williams – 5 points
20) Liam Lawson, RB – 4 points
21) Zhou Guanyu, Sauber – 0 points
22) Logan Sargeant, Williams – 0 points
23) Valtteri Bottas, Sauber – 0 points

2024 F1 Constructors’ Championship standings

1) McLaren – 608 points
2) Ferrari – 584 points
3) Red Bull Racing – 555 points
4) Mercedes-Benz AMG – 425 points
5) Aston Martin – 86 points
6) Haas – 50 points
7) Alpine – 49 points
8) RB – 46 points
9) Williams – 17 points
10) Sauber – 0 points

2024 F1 season race winners

Bahrain Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Australian Grand Prix – Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Japanese Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Chinese Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Miami Grand Prix – Lando Norris, McLaren
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Monaco Grand Prix – Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Canadian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Spanish Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Austrian Grand Prix – George Russell, Meredes-Benz AMG
British Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG
Hungarian Grand Prix – Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Belgian Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG
Dutch Grand Prix – Lando Norris, McLaren
Italian Grand Prix – Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Singapore Grand Prix – Lando Norris, McLaren
United States Grand Prix (Austin) – Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Mexican Grand Prix – Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Brazilian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Las Vegas Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Qatar Grand Prix – TBA
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – TBA