Vegas race sets up gripping showdown for team title

And so, as suddenly as it began, the fight is over. And Max Verstappen is, justly, the world champion for the fourth time.

- David Tremayne

It's been a very tough season for him and his Red Bull team; after a brilliant run of seven wins they suddenly encountered handling problems and a 10-race dry spell from Austria to Mexico as McLaren, Ferrari and briefly, Mercedes, surged ahead.

In a blustery race on a night-lit Las Vegas track which was dirty and dusty enough to wear out the tyres almost at will on some cars, the Flying Dutchman looked a threat for a little while before falling back behind the Ferraris.

But it was Mercedes who ruled this roost, and while they might not quite have understood why the notably cold conditions of track and ambient temperatures of only 18 deg C seemed to suit the capricious W15s of pole-sitter George Russell and 10th-place starter Lewis Hamilton as they scored Mercedes' 60th one-two. That result equalled Ferrari's all-time record.

It was a terrific drive from Russell, who went through the last corner on lap four side by side with the challenging Charles Leclerc so that they crossed the finish line officially separated by 0.0s, but the suave Englishman hung tough and kept his place, and thereafter both Ferraris had ruined their medium-compound Pirelli tyres as the 50-lap race had reached only the 10th tour.