‘Going to be devastated’: Oscar Piastri’s title hopes derailed as Max Verstappen takes dominant Vegas win

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson bang wheels at the start of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. FOX Sports

Max Verstappen has cruised to a dominant victory in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, while Oscar Piastri’s race was ultimately compromised by a collision on the opening lap.

The Red Bull driver was in complete control as he swept across the chequered flag, securing victory ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ George Russell.

Piastri finished the race back from the pack in fifth, but he subsequently inherited fourth place from Kimi Antonelli, who failed to serve his in-race five-second penalty for a false start.

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With the result, Verstappen remains mathematically in the hunt for a fifth consecutive title, while Norris has one hand firmly on the championship trophy.

Oscar Piastri on track during the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Zak Mauger via LAT Images

The Australian’s streak without a top-three finish now stands at six straight races, as the podium once again eluded him.

“Oscar is going to be devastated after this,” former world champion Jenson Button said on Sky Sports.

“This is a race he really needed to take the challenge to Lando, and he’s not had the opportunity to do that.”

Both McLaren drivers endured a calamitous start to the grand prix.

In a dramatic opening, polesitter Norris aggressively defended against Verstappen on the run to turn one.

Norris, however, went too deep, running wide and opening the door for Verstappen and Russell to get by.

After a disappointing qualifying saw him start fifth, Piastri’s race got worse from the get-go.

He was hampered by mid-pack commotion on the opening lap, which caused him to fall two places to seventh. Piastri dropped down the order after Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson made contact with him, resulting in wheel-to-wheel contact between the two drivers.

Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri banged wheels in turn one of Las Vegas.  Getty

The incident caused damage to Lawson’s front wing, prompting race control to deploy the virtual safety car (VSC). Although Piastri managed to escape relatively unscathed.

The stewards looked into the contact but concluded that no driver was predominantly to blame.

Additionally, further debris was scattered when Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto collided heavily with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, forcing both cars into immediate retirement.

“For Piastri, it’s damage control once again,” David Croft said in commentary for Sky Sports.

“Piastri’s championship since that win in Zandvoort [at the Dutch Grand Prix] has just unravelled for one reason or another. He just can’t find the pace that he was showing earlier in the season.”

As the race progressed, both McLarens found pace.

However, Piastri’s charge stalled when he locked up while attempting a move on Isack Hadjar, a mistake that allowed Charles Leclerc to sweep past him at the end of the Strip.

The race saw a second VSC deployment following a collision where Williams’ Alex Albon rear-ended Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, resulting in front wing damage for Albon.

But Piastri capitalised as the VSC ended, responding sharply to clear Hadjar.

Piastri pitted on lap 21 of 50, successfully executing an early stop to undercut the other Williams of Carlos Sainz on fresh, warm tyres.

He then successfully jumped Charles Leclerc when his Ferrari finally pitted, but was then held up by Antonelli until the end.

Norris finished 17 seconds behind Verstappen. The massive gap was attributed to a late-race fuel-saving issue for the Brit.

With just two grand prix and a sprint remaining, Norris’s runner-up finish cemented a 30-point championship lead over his McLaren teammate Piastri.

Meanwhile, Verstappen slashed the gap to Piastri to just 12 points in the standings.

Championship standings

NumDriverNationalityTeamPoints1Lando NorrisBritishMcLaren4082Oscar PiastriAustralianMcLaren3783Max VerstappenDutchRed Bull366