Max Verstappen dominated the Las Vegas Grand Prix and was given a major championship boost after McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were disqualified due to excessive skid block wear.
Four hours after the checkered flag, stewards announced that both McLarens had been disqualified after investigating the rear skid blocks, which had worn beyond the 9mm limit.
Norris finished second behind Verstappen and moved a step closer to his first F1 world title, but his championship lead remains at 24 points over Piastri, but more importantly Verstappen also leads.
Norris could still win the drivers’ championship next Sunday even if he ends the Qatar Grand Prix with a lead of more than 26 points over his rivals. But Verstappen is now a serious threat and will at least want to take the title fight to the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.
Piastri had finished the Las Vegas race in fourth place, thus losing further points to Norris, but the disqualification boosted his championship ambitions.
The race itself saw pole-sitter Norris lose out to Verstappen and George Russell after a dramatic start. Norris was passed by Verstappen on the short run to Turn 1, and Verstappen darted to the inside to cover the Red Bull driver, but went too deep and gave up first place.
Russell also took advantage of it by going around the outside in Turn 2, and Norris fell back to third place, but he passed Russell late in the race and regained second place.
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It was a dramatic but poor start for McLaren as Lando Norris was overtaken by Max Verstappen and George Russell and fell back to third place, while Oscar Piastri also fell from fifth to seventh, with an accident further back.
“I made a mistake in Turn 1. You have to be punchy in Turn 1 and I punched a little too hard,” said Norris, who could become Britain’s 11th F1 world champion.
“It took a toll on me, so sometimes it’s like that.”
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Verstappen, Norris and Russell took to the podium in a pink Cadillac made of Lego.
Kimi Antonelli benefited from McLaren’s disqualification and moved into third place, despite being given a five-second time penalty for a jump start.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton caught up from the start to take fourth and eighth, while Williams’ Carlos Sainz finished fifth, followed by Racing Bull’s Isaac Hajjar and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg.
Hamilton started on the hard and gained seven places on the opening lap, taking advantage of Gabriel Bortleto’s contact with Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly at the first corner, while Liam Lawson also made contact with Piastri, causing the Racing Bulls driver’s tire to go flat.
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Lewis Hamilton and Alex Albon deploy virtual safety car at Las Vegas Grand Prix
Verstappen takes advantage after dramatic start
After scoring a hat-trick of pole positions on Saturday, Norris insisted he was still willing to take risks in the Grand Prix, keeping his word and aggressively fending off Verstappen, but then shot himself down with a move that could have decided the outcome.
The pair almost hit each other and the wall, but Verstappen wisely let Norris go and sped past him on the exit of Turn 1. Norris was lifted, allowing Russell to dance on the outside.
Russell pushed Verstappen hard in the early stages and stayed within range of DRS, but was unable to mount a serious attack. Verstappen was then able to build up a three-second buffer before his only pit stop, as the Mercedes driver’s medium tires began to wear down and he also dealt with the steering issues that hampered him in Q3.
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Red Bull’s Max Verstappen feels he will struggle to win the world title as he is still 42 points behind leader Lando Norris despite victory in Las Vegas
Russell was the first of the leaders to pit on lap 18, while Verstappen pitted on lap 26, but he still took the lead, one second ahead of Russell, and went on to take his sixth win of the season.
“Usually the races are tough races for us. Usually we’re not that good with the tires, but today we seemed to have a little more control and we were able to push a little more,” Verstappen said.
“That opened up the pace a little bit more and allowed me to race a little longer and split the race in half. That helped a lot. The car was working well and it was more to my liking. It was a pretty decent gap in the end.”
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Key moment at Las Vegas Grand Prix as Norris overtakes Russell for second place and Verstappen receives radio message warning of title rival’s attack
Similar to the opening stint, Russell tried to keep up with Verstappen, but suffered tire damage, leaving him susceptible to Norris. Norris easily passed his compatriot on the Las Vegas Strip on lap 34.
Norris was told to “go get Max” with four seconds left, but he didn’t have the Dutchman’s pace. He then had problems with lift and coasting with three laps to go, which turned out to be due to worn skid blocks, but he had enough of an advantage to finish three seconds ahead of Russell and 20 seconds behind Verstappen.
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Despite increasing his lead over McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to 30 points, Lando Norris was left disappointed by finishing second behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in Las Vegas.
“It wasn’t his best performance there, but he won by 20 seconds because he did a better job and they were a little faster,” Norris said.
“Fun race, difficult as always, but a lot of fun.”
F1’s season-ending triple header continues with the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint weekend, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
