Posted on: November 24, 2024, 10:29h.
Last updated on: November 24, 2024, 11:31h.
Perhaps it wasn’t as dramatic, but Dutch driver Max Verstappen still got the job done, winning his 4th consecutive Formula 1 driver championship title by finishing 5th at the Las Vegas Grand Prix last night.
With that now out of the way, according to traders, eyes now turn to betting on F1’s Constructors’ Championship with just two races left in the 2024 F1 calendar.
Last night, all the Dutchman needed to do was hold off Lando Norris of McLaren to give his Red Bull team the driver championship. He finished 5th, while Norris finished 6th.
Verstappen becomes just the 6th driver in F1 history to win at least four titles. He joins Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, and Lewis Hamilton.
Betting Stats
Mercedes was 1-2 last night – George Russell won, with Hamilton No. 2. Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari rounded out the podium. Hamilton started 10th on the grid to finish 2nd. That was Mercedes’ first 1-2 finish since 2022.
How did it all look on the betting front? Verstappen was the most bet driver (tickets) at 20.4%, the most bet driver (handle) at 29.1%, going in, according to BetMGM. According to PointsBet traders Verstappen was 4th favourite and had the most bets at 30%, but the favourite Sainz had the most money at 53%. Oscar Piastri was the best bet to be on the podium and also to have the fastest lap.
McLaren (608 points) and Ferrari (584) are battling it out with two more races on the F1 calendar – Nov. 29-Dec. 1 in Qatar, and Dec. 6-8 in Abu Dhabi. Red Bull sits 3rd (555) in the constructor standings. The F1 team with the most championship points at the end of the season becomes the world champions. The Drivers’ Championship gets the bulk of media attention in F1, but the Constructors’ Championship is the bigger prize for the teams. Current BetMGM odds have McLaren at -400, Ferrari at +250 and Red Bull at +10000.
The F1 scoring system awards championship points for the first ten finishers at each Grand Prix race. The winner gets 25 points, with 18 for second, 15 for third, then scaling down before scaling down to 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, and a single point for the 10th-placed driver. There’s an additional point available for the driver with the fastest lap of the race (if they finish in the top ten), plus more points available for success in Formula 1’s Sprint races.
Mercedes Finishes 1-2
I think as a team, we stuck together,” Verstappen said after the race. “We had a lot of challenging races. We had a lot of talks back at the factory as well, but we stayed calm, and I think that’s the best way. We had a lot of pressure, but it seems like the team works very well under pressure. I think we handled that very well, and we maximized all the results. I think even we sometimes over-performed in places, plus our competition in places, they dropped a lot of points. So you also have to take that into consideration. And to win championships, you have to be as consistent as you can be.”
Verstappen was third with 20 laps left in the race, with the team focus going into wrapping up the driver championship, but also focusing on constructor championship ramifications.
Less Infrastructure Issues this Year
Last year’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix – part of a U.S. circuit of F1 races now that also include stops in Miami and Austin, Texas – wasn’t without its controversies.
The Las Vegas Strip Circuit is a temporary 6.2 kilometer, 50-lap, 17-turn street track, past iconic locations like Caesars Palace, the Bellagio and the Venetian, a race under the Vegas lights. Verstappen expressed frustrations last year about how the glitz and glamour Vegas became the show more than the race, despite winning the race (rival Lewis Hamilton said the opposite about the event, though, and other also countered the Dutchman’s opinions); loose manhole covers (F1 closed the course to inspect the entire circuit, including the long portion that runs along the Las Vegas strip); locals complaining about the disruptions; astronomical ticket prices; cancelled practice sessions.
This year there were far less off-track issues. One of the big stories away from the actual race was the film F1 starring Brad Pitt, scenes of which were being shot around the Las Vegas Grand Prix. One scene has him stumbling to the track after his character escaped a crash. Sylvester Stallone (who waved the checkered flag at the end of the race), Paris Hilton, Axl Rose, Gordon Ramsay, and Ludacris were other celebrities in attendance.
Norris had the fastest lap – Lap 50, with an average speed of 235.292, after making a late stop to put on softer tires, the fifth time he’s accomplished that this season. Small consolation, we’re sure, with Verstappen taking the bigger prize.
Those at the event got to see The Sphere congratulating Verstappen at the completion of the race. BetMGM has Norris (McLaren), at +225, Verstappen, at +300, and Russell at +600 as betting favourites for Qatar.
