LAS VEGAS – Crimson Bull’s Max Verstappen continued his red-hot run with a stellar exhibiting on the Strip, successful the Las Vegas Grand Prix for a second time in three years after profiting from a first-lap mishap by McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Norris, the polesitter and championship frontrunner, made what might solely be known as a recklessly aggressive transfer in an try to dam Verstappen from overtaking him on the within. Because of this, Norris briefly went off the observe and rejoined in third place after Verstappen gained the lead and Mercedes’ George Russell moved into second.
Norris regained second place from Russell on an uncontested overtake on Lap 34 and tried to make a late push to surpass Verstappen for the win. However it proved to be a futile try, and Verstappen solely lengthened the hole as Norris hung onto second place regardless of late points.
Saturday’s win marks Verstappen’s eighth consecutive podium end and his fourth win within the final seven Grand Prixs. The four-time defending champion stays an out of doors risk to win a fifth straight title. He now trails Oscar Piastri by simply 12 factors for second place and Norris by 42 factors for the lead with two weekends remaining on the calendar.
Though his two-race win streak was snapped, Norris gained six extra factors on Piastri, taking a 30-point lead over his teammate atop the World Drivers’ Championship standings getting into subsequent week’s Qatar Grand Prix.
Russell rounded out the rostrum with a third-place end, posting one other profitable weekend in Las Vegas after successful the Grand Prix in 2024. Russell’s Mercedes teammate and rookie Kimi Antonelli additionally notched a powerful efficiency and crossed the road in fourth place after beginning seventeenth on the grid. Nevertheless, he was assessed a five-second penalty for shifting earlier than the lights went out firstly of the race and formally completed fifth.
Flip 1 introduced extra drama on the primary lap, as Piastri narrowly dodged what would have been a championship-deciding incident. VCARB’s Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri and was compelled to retire from the race on account of entrance wing injury, however Piastri averted extreme injury himself and was capable of proceed his growingly unlikely title bid.
–Will Despart, Area Stage Media
