F1 news LIVE: Las Vegas GP reaction as champion Max Verstappen speaks about Red Bull future

Karun Chandhok believes Lewis Hamilton will have his poor qualifying record “weighing on his mind” ahead of his blockbuster move to Ferrari next year.

Seven-time F1 world champion Hamilton will leave Mercedes at the end of the season after 12 years to join the Scuderia in 2025.

Despite winning two races this year – at Silverstone and Spa – Hamilton is on track to record his lowest-ever championship position. He is seventh in the drivers’ standings ahead of this weekend’s race in Las Vegas.

Full piece below:

1. George Russell (1:22:05:969)

2. Lewis Hamilton (+7.313 secs)

3. Carlos Sainz (+11.906)

4. Charles Leclerc (+14.283)

5. Max Verstappen (+16.582)

6. Lando Norris (+43.385)

7. Oscar Piastri (+51.365)

8. Nico Hulkenberg (+59.808)

9. Yuki Tsunoda (+62.808)

10. Sergio Perez (+63.114)

Charles Leclerc did not hold back after the Las Vegas Grand Prix as he claimed over team radio: “Being nice f**** me over all the time.”

The Monegasque driver, who started fourth on the grid, had a tremendous start and was second after the first lap.

Leclerc came close to overtaking George Russell for the lead but then dropped back to fourth after an issue with his car.

Full transcript below:

Lando Norris’ battle is now for second place!

1. Max Verstappen - 403 points

2. Lando Norris - 340 points

3. Charles Leclerc - 319 points

4. Oscar Piastri - 268 points

5. Carlos Sainz - 259 points

6. George Russell - 217 points

7. Lewis Hamilton - 208 points

8. Sergio Perez - 152 points

9. Fernando Alonso - 62 points

10. Nico Hulkenberg - 35 points

11. Yuki Tsunoda - 30 points

12. Pierre Gasly - 26 points

13. Lance Stroll - 24 points

14. Esteban Ocon - 23 points

15. Kevin Magnussen - 14 points

16. Alex Albon - 12 points

17. Daniel Ricciardo - 12 points

18. Ollie Bearman - 7 points

19. Franco Colapinto - 5 points

20. Liam Lawson - 4 points

21. Zhou Guanyu - 0 points

22. Logan Sargeant - 0 points

23. Valtteri Bottas - 0 points

F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali, with a message to Max Verstappen.

“I want to congratulate Max on an incredible season and his fourth world title. He is a true great of this sport and has so much more to look forward to in his impressive career. This season has been thrilling and 2025 looks set to be even closer. Congratulations Max and congratulations to all the team at Red Bull.”

With victory in Las Vegas, George Russell claimed his third win in F1 after Brazil ‘22 and Austria ‘24.

With a 1-2, Mercedes becomes the second team (behind Ferrari) to score 60 1-2 finishes in F1.

It’s the team’s best result fo the season.

Max Verstappen took the lead of the Drivers’ Championship at the Spanish Grand Prix in May 2022. He’s held it ever since. It’s the longest run at the top of the standings in F1 history.

Is five in a row possible in 2025, given the improvements made by Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari? Here’s what the champion thinks.

“If you look at it, it’s going to be a proper battle between a lot of cars. I’m hungry. Of course I’m going to enjoy this. There are two more races and we take a break, then we go again next year.”

Here’s the world champion with his first interview since winning a fourth title.

“It’s been a long season. We started off amazing. We were cruising. But then we had a tough run. As a team we kept it together, kept working on improvements. We are proud of everyone and what they have done for me. Standing here as a four-time world champion, I didn’t think it was possible. I’m very relieved but also very proud.

“When I was 17 I was definitely not thinking of four titles. I was happy to be there, dreaming of podiums and race wins, the things that are very difficult to achieve. We get on a run after a difficult few years. We hit the ground running with the new concepts.

“It was a very challenging season. I had to be calm. I still preferred last season, I enjoyed that a lot. This season taught me lessons. That still makes it a beautiful season. I think the fans got a bit spoilt last year with the wins. They had to wait a bit in the middle of the season.

“The team, we’ve been through a lot together. All these highs are very special. They are pushing flat out to give me the car to fight for the title. To do that four times in a row is very special.”

Lewis Hamilton still has some regrets after only coming 10th in Q3 yesterday.

Hamilton: “First I’m going to say a big congrats to Max Verstappen, winning the Championship with races to go. If I had done my job yesterday, it would have been a breeze today. I had fun coming from 10th. We don’t know why we were so fast. It’s the best it’s ever felt.”