Max Verstappen hit the jackpot by winning the Las Vegas Grand Prix and is still in the championship battle following his 69th career Formula 1 win. He finished ahead of Lando Norris and George Russell.
The Red Bull driver made a quick start in which Lando Norris was forced into an aggressive defence into the opening corner, but the McLaren driver outbraked himself in the short run to Turn 1. The reigning world champion pull enough of a gap to lead the race, while Norris ended up losing another position to George Russell, who slipped past Carlos Sainz off the line.
Although Russell put Verstappen under pressure in the early laps, the Red Bull driver resisted the challenge and rebuilt a gap to keep the Mercedes out of DRS range. As such, Russell then began to fall back, providing Norris with an opportunity to upgrade his position.
However, Russell’s undercut strategy to collect the hard tyre means that any Norris challenge would have to wait until after the stops, and briefly offered the Mercedes driver a chance to get closer to Verstappen once the pitstop had played out.
Verstappen emerged from his own stop just over a second clear of Russell and, with fresher tyres, easily drove into the distance. This again left Russell into the pressure of Norris, who cruised past on lap 34 at Turn 14 – the now third-placed Russell admitting that he did not want to take risk and concede a podium finish.
Norris was told to chase after Verstappen, but the four-time world champion was kept informed of the McLaren driver’s renewed challenge and began to turn in a series of quick laps. This ensured that Norris had little chance of reclaiming the lead, and the deal was done when Lando’s pace dropped significantly late on.
A need to save fuel at the end of the race cost Norris around 14 seconds in the final four laps, although his advantage over Russell was enough to keep second at the finishing line. Russell had encountered the same steering issues that he had suffered in qualifying, although protection from a long-stinting Andrea Kimi Antonelli ensured that George faced no further threat to his podium finish.
After starting P17, Antonelli had done 48 laps on the hard tyre having stopped early on to switch to the soft tyres he had started on, but dropped from fourth to fifth due to a five-second penalty – following a jump start by a barely perceptible amount on the grid.
Oscar Piastri thus moved up to fourth to reduce the damage in the championship, although he now sits 30 points behind Norris in the standings, having kept Charles Leclerc while battling behind Antonelli.
Sainz collected seventh, over ten seconds clear of Isack Hadjar as the duo’s impressive qualifying performances were converted into points finishes, while Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton completed the top ten. Hamilton moved up from P19 on the grid, having survived contact with Alex Albon on the lap 13.
So congratulations to Max Verstappen in winning the LAs Vegas race and is still in the championship battle. This latest success means he is now ten points behind Oscar Piastri in the drivers’ standings. As for Lando Norris, he can win the title at next weekend’s Qatar event.
UPDATE: Following post-race checks, McLaren were found to have failed to meet the minimum thickness requirement of the rear skid block. Meaning both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been disqualified from the race results. That promotes a double podium for Mercedes with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli taking P2 and P3. Following the disqualification, Max is now on equal points with Oscar with 366. Just 24 points from championship leader Lando, who has 390 points. The title battle just got tense and interesting!
Las Vegas Grand Prix, race results:
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:21:08.429
2 George Russell Mercedes +23.546s
3 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +30.488s
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +30.678s
5 Carlos Sainz Williams +34.924s
6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +45.257s
7 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +51.134s
8 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +59.369s
9 Esteban Ocon Haas +60.635s
10 Oliver Bearman Haas +70.549s
11 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +85.308s
12 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull +86.974s
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine +91.702s
14 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +1 lap
15 Franco Colapinto Sauber +1 lap
Alexander Albon Williams DNF
Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber DNF
Lance Stroll Aston Martin DNF
Lando Norris McLaren +20.741s/DSQ*
Oscar Piastri McLaren +27.650s/DSQ*
*Disqualified for excessive skid block rear
Max Verstappen claimed an impressive victory in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, denying Lando Norris and reducing the McLaren driver’s lead in the standings to 42 points as Oscar Piastri finished fourth.
Verstappen was left in control of the 50-lap race on the streets of Las Vegas after the opening corners, passing poleman Norris when the Drivers’ Championship leader ran wide through Turn 1 having initially chopped across his title rival off the line.
Norris also slipped behind George Russell and only re-passed the Mercedes driver in the latter stages but was unable to mount a challenge on Verstappen, eventually limping home nearly 21 seconds adrift after nursing a late problem.
Russell held on for the podium despite complaining of his own issues with his Mercedes’ steering, which nearly dropped him into the clutches of a fighting drive from team mate Kimi Antonelli, who finished fourth on-the-road after starting P17.
The young Italian had held off a charging Piastri and Charles Leclerc in the closing stages, but a five-second penalty for a false start dropped Antonelli to P5 in the final classification, just one-tenth ahead of Leclerc who fell back in the final laps.
It meant Piastri finished P4 having slipped as low as seventh at one stage in the early running after being hit by Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls in the opening turn, with the Australian now 30-points behind Norris in the championship.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/verstappen-beats-norris-for-dominant-las-vegas-gp-victory-as-piastri.6u1Op0SO7YQa2bwJOq8DVI
Oscar Piastri has conceded that his 2025 Formula 1 title chances are now not in his hands, after losing further ground to Lando Norris in the points standings in Las Vegas.
The Australian was elevated to fourth at the end of the Las Vegas race after benefitting from Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s five-second penalty for moving before the start, but Norris’ second place grew the gap between them to 30 points. There are 58 points on the table in the final two rounds, as the next round in Qatar hosts a sprint weekend.
Piastri had been 34 points ahead of Norris after Zandvoort’s Dutch Grand Prix, but this lead was whittled away in the subsequent rounds and Norris reclaimed the lead of the championship by a point after winning in Mexico. In the two races since, Norris has outscored Piastri by a further 29 points.
The gravity of the situation has not escaped Piastri’s notice; he believes that a potential title is still on, but noted that winning the remaining races would not be enough to turn the tide. He needs Norris – and Max Verstappen, who sits 12 points behind Piastri – to encounter a palpable level of misfortune in the final two rounds.
“I think [the title is still possible], but it’s obviously now in the position where I can’t just win it by winning races,” Piastri said after the Las Vegas race. “But what I can do is put myself in the best position to capitalise on if something does happen.
“So for my own pride, ego and opportunities, I want to win the next two races. But that’s all I can do. If things go my way, things go my way. And if they don’t, then it is what it is. I’ll try my best to have a good couple of last weekends.
“It is an outside chance now. Like I said, I need things outside of my control to also happen.
“In some ways [it takes the pressure off], but it doesn’t change the desire to want to do my best and try and win. And that’s what I’ll be focused on.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/oscar-piastri-2025-f1-title-is-out-of-my-control/10779117/
Max Verstappen is taking motivation from a strong end to the 2025 Formula 1 campaign, after victory in the Las Vegas Grand Prix added fuel to his title push.
Verstappen’s chances of securing a fifth consecutive title has looked unlikely for much of the season, but a surge in the second half of the campaign has thrust him back into contention, with a dominant victory on the iconic Las Vegas streets his latest triumph.
Although the result initially left him 42 points back on Lando Norris – who took the flag in second – post-race disqualifications for both McLaren drivers for excessive skid wear reduced this gap to 24 points, less than a single race win, with the Red Bull man also now level with Oscar Piastri on 366 points.
Speaking before news of the investigation broke, Verstappen – when asked why he looked so happy celebrating this particular victory – said of his latest success: “It’s because they don’t come as easy as ’23. In ’23, it was more like ticking boxes. Now, it’s not like that, and we’ve come from a very tough period already last year.
“This year has been annoying at some stages as well. Everyone was not happy with the performances, and to still have this kind of end to the season is for us, amazing. You need to enjoy that because it’s a big motivational boost to everyone, and that’s the same for me.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/a-big-motivational-boost-verstappen-hails-amazing-end-to-2025-as-crucial.B5ONeg5X347SHIJwzF1s3
McLaren has received a double disqualification from the Las Vegas Grand Prix because both of its Formula 1 cars failed to meet the minimum thickness requirement of the rear skid block.
It means Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have respectively lost their second and fourth-place finishes from Saturday night, having breached Article 3.5.9 e) of the 2025 F1 technical regulations.
This states: “The thickness of the plank assembly measured normal to the lower surface must be 10mm ± 0.2mm and must be uniform when new.
“A minimum thickness of 9mm will be accepted due to wear, and conformity to this provision will be checked at the peripheries of the designated holes.”
Mercedes pair George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli have consequently moved up to second and third behind winner Max Verstappen, who took his sixth victory of the season.
Verstappen’s hopes of a fifth consecutive title have also now increased because he is only 24 points behind leader Norris with two grands prix and a sprint race remaining. The Dutchman is joint-second with Piastri.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/lando-norris-oscar-piastri-disqualified-from-f1-las-vegas-gp/10779212/
McLaren has reacted to the “extremely disappointing” double disqualification of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with Team Principal Andrea Stella apologising to the pair.
Norris and Piastri were disqualified from second and fourth respectively several hours after the 50-lap race on the streets of Las Vegas, as the skid block wear on both cars was found to be below the minimum 9mm thickness.
The stewards therefore were left with no alternative but to exclude both cars from the final classification.
“During the race, both cars experienced unexpected, high levels of porpoising not seen in the Practice sessions, which led to excessive contact with the ground,” said Stella in a statement released by McLaren after the decision.
“We are investigating the reasons for this behaviour of the car, including the effect of accidental damage sustained by both cars, which we found after the race, and that led to an increase of movement of the floor.
“As the FIA noted, the breach was unintentional, there was no deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations, and mitigating circumstances also existed.
“We apologise to Lando and Oscar for the loss of points today, at a critical time in their Championship campaigns after two strong performances from them all weekend. As a team, we also apologise to our partners and fans, whose support means so much.
“While this outcome is extremely disappointing, we remain fully focused on the last two races of the season.”
Norris remains 24 points ahead of Piastri in the Drivers’ Championship, but is now the same margin ahead of Max Verstappen after the Red Bull driver’s victory in Las Vegas.
There remain 58 points on offer across the Qatar Grand Prix and Sprint next weekend, before the final round of the season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/stella-apologises-to-norris-and-piastri-as-mclaren-react-to-extremely.3pCtXoGCKALaNNkWXDtsoy