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Max Verstappen won his 4th Formula 1 World Championship at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but his long-term partner Kelly Piquet wasn’t there to celebrate it with him.
Instead she had a short and simple message for Max after watching him win it from afar.
Max did the job in Vegas
Max’s job at the Las Vegas Grand Prix was simple. Finish ahead of Lando Norris in the Mclaren and win his fourth title.
Qualifying saw Max get off to a good start to the weekend, setting a time good enough for P5, one position ahead of Lando’s starting slot of 6th. And as the lights went out, Max drove a commanding race and maintained his position ahead of Lando on track.
The Mclarens always seemed to be lacking a little pace during the Vegas weekend. And they were no match for Verstappen in his Red Bull.
The two drivers in contention for the championship finished where they started; 5th and 6th respectively. That was enough for Max to score the points needed to take the title with two races still to go.
Max's reaction
Max definitely didn’t have the fastest car at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Mercedes dominated and Ferrari were much faster than Red Bull. But Max still pulled a gap of around 27 seconds over his championship rival Norris to seal the championship.
Compared to his titles in 2022 and 2023, this year has been a real challenge for Max. It started strong with 7 victories from the first 10 races before Red Bull struggled with mid-season performance. It was 10 races between his victory in Spain and his most recent victory in Brazil, but he held up against the pressure.
After the race he said “It’s been a long season and of course we started off amazing … but then we had a tough run.
“But as a team, we kept it together, we kept working on improvements and we pulled off the win. Incredibly proud of everyone, what they have done for me.
“I’m also very proud of this season because for most of the season… I would say for 70% of the season, we didn’t have the fastest car, but we actually still extended our lead.”
Christian Horner's reaction
Max joins an elite group of Formula 1 drivers who have clinched 4 world titles. He equals Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel as 4-time champions, beaten only by Juan Manuel Fangio with 5 titles and both Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher with 7.
Red Bull now have 8 World Championships to their name. They won 4 in a row with Vettel from 2010-2013 and have now won 4 in a row with Verstappen from 2021-2024.
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Christian Horner has been in charge of the Red Bull F1 team for all 8 of their driver titles. After Max won his fourth at Vegas Horner said “When we did it 4 times with Seb, I thought we’d never repeat that.
“The win in 2021, that was massive. And then to be standing here with Max having won 4 as well, and joining a very elite group of champions now, it puts him really in amongst the all time greats.”
Asked what he thinks makes Verstappen so great, Horner said “He has an insane amount of natural talent and ability. He has more hunger than I’ve seen in any driver. The dedication, the application and self-belief in himself. I think that combination has created one of the most phenominal drivers that I have ever seen.”
Kelly Piquet's reaction
Max Verstappen has been dating his partner Kelly Piquet (daughter of 3-time F1 World Champion Nelson Piquet) for over four years. She has been Max’s partner for all four of his world titles.
Kelly is often present at races and is always one of the first to congratulate Max after a good result by giving him a kiss and a hug after he jumps out of his car. But unusually she wasn’t in Las Vegas for the Grand Prix where Max sealed his 4th title.
But she was definitely watching the race from afar. And immediately after he passed the chequered flag she posted a story on her Instagram dedicated to Max. Quite simply, it was a picture of him in his Red Bull with the caption “4 in a row baby”
Kelly is a massive supporter of her partner Max. After he took his stunning victory at the Brazilian GP, she posted to her Instagram timeline with a number of photos and videos from the weekend, with the caption “Still riding the high”.
Brazil is home soil for Kelly and her whole family, including her 3-time champion father Nelson, were there to support Max and celebrate after his stunning victory in the rain.
