Las Vegas GP: Max Verstappen wins as Lando Norris closes in on world title with second, Oscar Piastri finishes fourth

Max Verstappen dominated the Las Vegas Grand Prix as Lando Norris fought back to finish second to close in on a first F1 world title.

Pole-sitter Norris lost out to Verstappen and George Russell in a dramatic start but increases his advantage in the Drivers’ Championship to 30 points over Oscar Piastri, who was fourth, and 42 points to Verstappen.

It means Norris will become world champion if he leaves next Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix with a lead of 26 points, so would wrap up the title with a round to spare ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Norris was outfoxed by Verstappen on the short run down to Turn One as he darted to the inside to cover the Red Bull driver but went too deep and gave up first place.

Russell also capitalised by going around the outside at Turn Two, so Norris dropped to third but later cruised past Russell in the second half of the race to take back second, then also overcame a late fuel issue.

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It was a dramatic start and a bad one for McLaren, as Lando Norris fell to third place, overtaken by Max Verstappen and George Russell, and Oscar Piastri dropped from fifth to seventh, with incidents further behind too

“I made the mistake into Turn One. You’ve got to be punchy into Turn One, I was just a bit too punchy,” said Norris, who could become Britain’s 11th F1 world champion.

“That cost me, so that’s the way it is sometimes. Still a good result, second, and still good points so it’s not like I’m too disappointed.”

F1 title race permutations

• Maximum of 58 points available in Qatar (Sprint weekend) and Abu Dhabi
• Norris 30 points ahead of Piastri and 42 points in front of Verstappen
• Norris cannot win title in Qatar Sprint on Saturday
• Norris will be world champion if he leaves Qatar next Sunday with lead of 26 points, or more
• Piastri must reduce gap to 25 points to Norris after Qatar to stay in title contention
• Verstappen must also reduce gap to 25 points to Norris after Qatar to stay in title contention

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Verstappen, Norris and Russell were taken to the podium by a pink Cadillac, built from Lego!

Kimi Antonelli crossed the line in fourth but a five-second time penalty for jumping the start dropped him to fifth behind Piastri, who was outscored by Norris for a seventh consecutive race.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton made up ground early on to finish sixth and 10th with Williams’ Carlos Sainz in seventh, ahead of Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg.

Hamilton started on the hards and gained seven spots on the opening lap after taking advantage of Gabriel Bortoleto hitting Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly at the first turn, with Liam Lawson also making contact with Piastri which punctured the Racing Bulls driver’s tyres.

Las Vegas GP Result: Top 10

1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull

2) Lando Norris, McLaren

3) George Russell, Mercedes

4) Oscar Piastri, McLaren

5) Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

6) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

7) Carlos Sainz, Williams

8) Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls

9) Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber

10) Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

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Lewis Hamilton and Alex Albon bring out Virtual Safety Car at the Las Vegas Grand Prix

Verstappen dominates after dramatic start

After making it a hat-trick of pole positions on Saturday, Norris insisted he would still take risks in the Grand Prix and stuck to his word by aggressively fending off Verstappen, only to outbrake himself in a move which may have dictated the result.

The pair came close to contact with each other and the wall but Verstappen smartly let Norris go before speeding past at the exit of Turn One, as Norris lifted which allowed Russell to dance around the outside.

Russell pushed Verstappen hard early on, keeping within DRS range but was unable to mount a serious attack. The Mercedes driver’s medium tyres then started to grain up and he also dealt with a steering issue which hampered him in Q3, so Verstappen was able to build a three-second buffer ahead of the only round of pit stops.

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Despite having won in Las Vegas, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen feels it will be difficult to win the world title, with the Dutchman still 42 points behind leader Lando Norris

Russell was the first of the leaders to pit on Lap 18 and Verstappen boxed on Lap 26, still coming out in the lead one second ahead of Russell then cruised away to a sixth win of the season.

“Normally the race is a tough one for us. We are normally not that great on tyres, but today it seemed like we had it a bit more under control and I could push a little bit more,” said Verstappen.

“That unlocked a little more pace and I could stay out a little bit longer and split the race in half. That helped a lot. The car was working well and much more to my liking. In the end it was quite a decent gap.”

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A big moment in the Las Vegas Grand Prix as Norris overtakes Russell for second place and Verstappen receives a radio message warning him that his title rival is on the charge

Similarly to the opening stint, Russell tried to keep up with Verstappen but damaged his tyres which left him susceptible to Norris, who easily overtook his compatriot on the Las Vegas Strip on Lap 34.

Norris was told to “go and get Max” at four seconds up the road but did not have the pace of the Dutchman. He later suffered an issue with three laps to go which required heavy fuel saving, but had enough of an advantage to finish three seconds ahead of Russell but 20 seconds behind Verstappen.

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Despite extending his lead to 30 points over McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris was left frustrated after finishing second behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in Las Vegas

“It was not my best performance out there but when the guy wins by 20 seconds it’s because he has just done a better job and they’re a bit quicker,” said Norris.

“Fun race out there, difficult as always, but good fun.”

Las Vegas GP Result

Driver
Team
Time

1) Max Verstappen
Red Bull
1:21:08.429

2) Lando Norris
McLaren
+20.741

3) George Russell
Mercedes
+23.546

4) Oscar Piastri
McLaren
+27.650

5) Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
+30.488

6) Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
+30.678

7) Carlos Sainz
Williams
+34.924

8) Isack Hadjar
Racing Bulls
+45.257

9) Nico Hulkenberg
Sauber
+51.134

10) Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari
+59.369

11) Esteban Ocon
Haas
+60.635

12) Oliver Bearman
Haas
+70.549

13) Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin
+85.308

14) Yuki Tsunoda
Red Bull
+86.974

15) Pierre Gasly
Alpine
+91.702

16) Liam Lawson
Racing Bulls
+1 lap

17) Franco Colapinto
Alpine
+1 lap

Alex Albon
Williams
DNF

Gabriel Bortoleto
Sauber
DNF

Lance Stroll
Aston Martin
DNF

F1’s season-ending triple header continues with the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime