Former five-division champion Floyd Mayweather and Hollywood icon Sylvester Stallone, renowned for his portrayal of ‘Rocky Balboa,’ were among the notable figures present as Max Verstappen clinched his fourth Formula 1 world championship with a composed drive to fifth place at Saturday night’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. 

Meanwhile, Mercedes delivered a stellar performance, with pole-sitter George Russell and the relentless Lewis Hamilton securing a commanding one-two finish. Max Verstappen entered the 50-lap showdown knowing that his path to a fourth world championship required keeping title rival Lando Norris at bay. 

The Dutchman executed his strategy flawlessly, holding his position through the first corner and gradually pulling away from the McLaren driver to seal the crown with clinical precision. After the second round of pit stops, the Red Bull driver already held a podium spot, so he opted against a challenge when Ferraris closed in on him during the closing laps. 

As a result, both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc found a way past him before the checkered flag. Regardless, in the front of the race, Russell managed to keep an aggressive Leclerc at bay in the early laps, and the aggression forced the latter into tire trouble. Meanwhile, Hamilton was able to bounce back from the challenging conclusion to qualifying, which left him 10th on the grid. 

As the action unfolded on the track, Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather was spotted in the stands, soaking in the high-octane atmosphere as the cars whizzed by. Later, he shared a series of videos and a photo from the event on his Instagram story, giving fans a glimpse of his Formula 1 experience. 

Similarly, Hollywood legend Sylvester Stallone had the same idea, capturing and sharing moments from his visit to the thrilling Las Vegas Grand Prix. In an Instagram post, he shared a picture of himself waving the checkered flag while the caption read, “Very proud to be able to wave the CHECKERED FLAG at last night’s Formula One race in Las Vegas!”

Meanwhile,  Lando Norris, who could have thrown a wrench in Verstappen’s fourth title win, has shared his thoughts post-race. 

Lando Norris remains brutally honest after Max Verstappen’s win

The McLaren driver offered a frank assessment of his and McLaren’s shortcomings after Max Verstappen clinched his fourth consecutive Formula One championship title. Norris, who came in the sixth position, just shy of Verstappen himself, admitted his team wasn’t prepared to fight for the title this year. 

“I didn’t even expect to be in the title fight,” Norris told Sky Sports. “The first half, I don’t think I was, or we were as a team mentally ready to be like ‘oh, now we have to fight against the big boys and execute perfectly.’ And we paid the price a little bit… but also it was us that was there fighting Max, no one else.”

That said, Floyd Mayweather and Sylvester Stallone seemingly had a heck of a time during Saturday night’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. While Mayweather enjoyed the race from the stands, Stallone got to wave the checkered flag. What did you think about the race?