Sunday, November 24, 2024, 06:58
There are few places in the world better for a party than Las Vegas, and this Sunday there were two. The first and greatest, from Max Verstappen, who with a more than enough fifth place (Norris did not put even half a stone in his way) earned the necessary points to become world champion for the fourth time, also consecutively. The Dutchman already equals legends such as Alain Prost or Sebastian Vettel, and surpasses, among others, his own father-in-law, Nelson Piquet.
The other party of the day was for a colossal George Russell. The Briton dominated from start to finish, from pole and without failing in any corner. A perfect victory for Mercedes that was completed by Lewis Hamilton with a great second place, coming back from 10th, and Carlos Sainz to close the podium. The man from Madrid, from less to more, managed a career more than worthy for him. Far behind, Fernando Alonso scored an 11th that exceeds Aston Martin’s expectations but is not enough to be satisfied.
Exit: Sainz falls short
In a cold start in which there were no incidents, Carlos Sainz made a clear mistake by leaving the door open in the first corner after getting somewhat stuck at the start. The options to attack Russell clearly disappeared, to the point that Charles Leclerc passed him with solvency and ease. The one who gained the most advantage from this was Russell himself, who escaped from the beginning.
Only after a few laps Leclerc went on the attack. He tried to get the Ferrari into the Mercedes, but he didn’t know how or couldn’t do it, which ended in a small touch that hindered him for the rest of the race. In fact, shortly after he gave in again with Sainz, but also with Verstappen who from behind did not want to speculate on his options for the title. The Dutchman wanted to tie up the championship without having to do the math, and with Norris putting in a mediocre performance, he just wanted to win even if he didn’t need it mathematically.
But there wasn’t much action on the track until the first pit stops came. They were not the only ones, since the very low temperature on the track forced all the drivers to go through the garage street at least once to put on new wheels. The positions were shuffled at the top, to the point that Verstappen found himself second after them (despite the fact that he had been complaining), with a more than aggressive Hamilton who also wanted to get a podium finish. In this race, the Mercedes were clearly superior to the rest.
Alonso, against the grain and without rhythm; Ferrari, asleep
In all the rounds of pit stops in Las Vegas, the first to make them was Fernando Alonso. We had to try something different, although it didn’t work. Without rhythm, without optimal strategy, without the possibility of scoring, Alonso ended practically where he started and can be thankful that there are only two weekends left to finish a more than forgettable season for Aston Martin before Adrian Newey’s pens begin to create.
That Aston’s strategy is not correct is, to some extent, painless. Not so at Ferrari, whose engineers, those ‘strategists’ who usually put on a sordid spectacle from time to time, experienced another embarrassing Sunday. Proof of this was what happened at the second stops, when a Sainz who was already with destroyed tires shouted over the radio asking to be allowed in to change tires. So much so that the man from Madrid headed into the pitlane and, realizing that his mechanics were not prepared, had to pull out at the last moment shouting “Wake up, guys!”
The fight between the Ferrari drivers did not stop there. Leclerc joked on the radio with his engineers when they told him that they had asked Sainz not to push him. The Monegasque’s response was to be asked in Spanish, because the Madrid native, far from giving up the position, overtook him again and began to chase Max Verstappen who was heading towards a possible podium that was more than enough for him to become champion.
The Dutchman’s title came both through his own merit and through the demerit of Lando Norris who did not appear in any snapshot of this race. The driver who was supposed to try to avoid the alirón did not even attempt to look at the top of the race, to the point that Verstappen did not even need to get on the box to achieve glory. The 5th place, overtaken at the end by the two Ferraris, did not pose a major problem for him, aware that his only rival was not going to give him even half a problem, a Norris who, beyond attempting the fastest lap to add one more point in the constructors’ championship for the fight in which they are immersed against Ferrari did nothing.
The photo of the podium in the race in which the Dutchman was crowned four-time world champion went to the invincibles George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, with Carlos Sainz adding one of his last podiums (perhaps the last) with Ferrari. The first without points in this race was Fernando Alonso, in an 11th position that knows little in general terms but that, seeing the scenario in which Aston Martin is right now, is much better than they thought.
