Max Verstappen kept up his slim Formula 1 championship hopes with victory in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, capitalising on a mistake from Lando Norris at the start.
After nabbing the lead off a clumsy Norris, the Dutchman never looked back and controlled the proceedings, to score another victory in his late-season renaissance.
Norris recovered to take second, holding off George Russell who took third. Oscar Piastri fell further behind Norris with fourth.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli produced a stellar drive from 17th on the grid, finishing fifth, which would have been fourth if not for a five-second penalty for jumping the start.
For Norris, it may not have been the result he wanted, but it leaves him in prime position to secure the Drivers’ Championship in Qatar next week.
At the start, Norris got away sluggishly and swooped right across Verstappen, but missed his braking point and went deep into Turn 1.
Side by side with Verstappen, the Dutchman got his elbows out into Turn 2 and got the lead, with Russell taking second off Norris down the outside of Turn 3.
At the tail end, it got hectic with Gabriel Bortoleto and Lance Stroll colliding, with Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto also getting caught in the action. Bortoleto and Stroll were out. Tsunoda was forced to pit.
Thankfully for Norris, Piastri also had a shocker, dropping behind both Racing Bulls and was now seventh, with Bearman eighth.
Piastri and Lawson then touched at Turn 1 at the next lap, the Kiwi suffering car damage and also being forced to pit for repairs.
Hamilton had a barnstorming start and worked his way up through the field, and by Lap 2, was up to 12th.
Debris left at Turns 1, 2, 3 and 4 triggered a Virtual Safety Car period, which ended on Lap 4.
Leclerc was working his way through the field, taking Bearman for seventh on Lap 5.
By Lap 9, Verstappen was now 1.5s ahead of Russell, with Norris a further three seconds behind. Hamilton was now caught up in a DRS train led by Hulkenberg in 10th, with Albon looking keen to make a move on the Ferrari in front.
On Lap 12, Piastri, whilst in pursuit of Hadjar, locked up and went into Turn 14. This left him in the clutches of Leclerc, who used the straight between Turns 16 and 17 to power past the Australian for sixth place.
The Monegasque continued his progress, taking Hadjar for fifth a lap later, giving Piastri another shot at the French rookie, with Bearman now five seconds behind.
Albon and Hamilton’s battle was halted after the Williams touched the Ferrari, causing front wing damage that needed repairs.
It gave Hamilton some respite as his nearest challenger was Antonelli, two seconds behind, who was given a five second time penalty for jumping the start.
The Virtual Safety Car was once again deployed to clear debris, but racing resumed quickly, with Piastri and Hadjar enjoying a tussle for sixth, with Piastri getting ahead on Lap 17.
A few laps after complaining of steering issues, Russell boxed on Lap 18 for a set of Hards, rejoining seventh, with Bearman and Alonso also pitting, which released Hamilton into the points.
Verstappen holds lead after stop
With clear air, Norris was now faster, setting fastest lap of the race and was within three seconds of Verstappen.
Hadjar was the next of the leading cars to box, entering on Lap 21, with Albon’s misery compounded after picking up a five second penalty for causing the collision with Hamilton, as well ass a reprimand for a starting procedure infringement.
Sainz, back in third after Russell’s stop, was coming under extreme pressure from Leclerc, as Piastri came in on Lap 22 for Hards, rejoining in 10th.
Amid fending off his former team-mate, the Spaniard was ordered to box, which he would just after Norris, who took on Hards a lap after his team-mate, rejoining fourth on Hards.
Sainz rejoined ninth after his stop, just ahead of Piastri, but could do nothing to prevent the Australian getting ahead of him at Turn 3.
Leclerc pitted for Hards on Lap 25, with Verstappen now the only leading driver still on Medium tyres.
The Red Bull did then pit a lap later, and rejoined still in the lead on Hards, just 1.4s ahead of Russell.
Hulkenberg and Hamilton, who started on Hards but were yet to pit, were now fourth and fifth, with Ocon boxing for Hards on Lap 28, after making more than half the race on Mediums.
Hamilton ended his 30-lap stint on Hards by bolting on Mediums, rejoining in 10th. Leclerc was seventh, just two seconds behind Piastri.
With his tyres not yet up to temperature, Hamilton was coming under pressure from Alonso, but the Brit was able to fend off the Spaniard, who dropped to 13th behind both Haas cars.
Russell, sensing Norris was faster, told his team that he would defend him, but was not going to risk a podium, as Norris was told to attack, and then make for Verstappen.
On Lap 34, that’s exactly what the McLaren did, taking Russell around the outside into Turn 14, and set off in pursuit of Verstappen who was five seconds up the road.
Verstappen gives Norris no chance for victory
McLaren’s battle cry was relayed to Verstappen, who responded by setting the fastest lap, and opening up a further six tenths on Norris, who was now over three seconds ahead of Russell.
Piastri set about taking fourth off of Antonelli on the road, already ahead with the latter’s penalty accounted for. But the McLaren needed to get ahead to help relieve the pressure of Leclerc behind him.
Going into Turn 14, Piastri tried a move down the outside, but slid wide, leaving him vulnerable to the #16 Ferrari.
Albon retired his car, having still been languishing at the back. Sainz was still holding firm in seventh, nine seconds ahead of Hadjar.
Verstappen’s gap to Norris stagnated at 5.8s, as Piastri was still unable to get past Antonelli, with Leclerc just half a second behind.
Norris was now over eight seconds ahead of Piastri and still set to extend his championship lead, but appeared desperate over radio to find a way of catching Verstappen up ahead.
With four laps to go, there appeared to be no answer to Verstappen, who was now over seven seconds ahead. Piastri fell out of Antonelli’s DRS, with Leclerc still within range, as Hamilton looked like settling for 10th after his speedy opening laps.
Verstappen set another fastest lap, now 10 seconds ahead of Norris, who was appearing to slow dramatically. By the last lap, Verstappen was now 17 seconds ahead, and Russell just five seconds behind Norris.
Verstappen could afford to coast to the line, and duly took victory to keep his championship hopes alive, as Norris could feel thankful to take second, finishing under three seconds ahead of Russell at the finish. Another lap, and second place would have been Russell’s.
Piastri took fourth with Antonelli’s penalty dropping him to fifth, with Leclerc falling away enough for the Italian to lose just one place.
Sainz was seventh to keep Williams in the lead of the midfield battle, with Hadjar eighth, Hulkenberg ninth and Hamilton 10th.
READ MORE – F1 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix – Race Results
Discussion about this post