Verstappen remains in title contention with Las Vegas victory ahead of Norris and Russell

Max Verstappen cruised to victory in Las Vegas, a whopping 20 seconds ahead of second place after seizing the lead from Lando Norris on Lap 1, while Norris and George Russell limped their way to the podium after managing late-race issues on both cars. Norris' hold on the championship tightens, with a 30-point lead over Oscar Piastri

Max Verstappen takes his second Las Vegas victory | Credit: Formula One

It’s now down to the final triple header of the season, which kicked off with an action-packed Las Vegas Grand Prix for the third edition of this round that scythes through the very heart of Sin City.

Lando Norris led the field from pole, but Max Verstappen swiftly took P1 from the championship leader who went aggressive at the start, and sailed to his second Las Vegas victory and 69th career win.

Norris salvaged a second-place finish despite having to save fuel late in the race, while George Russell completed the podium, also nursing issues all the way to the chequered flag.

Kimi Antonelli put up a sturdy defence on race-worn hard tyres to keep Oscar Piastri away from his teammate's podium, and despite a five-second penalty, finished fifth behind Piastri.

The Australian driver is now 30 points behind Norris in the championship with two races and a sprint remaining, while Verstappen's slim title chances remain mathematically possible, though unrealistic.

Here’s how an incident-filled 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix panned out.

Race Report

Norris led off 19 cars from the grid, with Yuki Tsunoda taking a pit lane start following a new Power Unit allocation. 

The top 10 all elected to start on the medium compound, while at the race start, Norris took an aggressive approach into the first turn but went wide – Verstappen sweeping past into the lead of the race.

Norris dropped down to third as Russell climbed up to second, while the other McLaren of Piastri also dropped two places from fifth.

Meanwhile, yellow flags due to debris from contact between Gabriel Bortoleto and Pierre Gasly saw marshals on track with still no Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car (VSC) in sight. 

More carnage on the first lap caught out Lance Stroll, marking the Aston Martin the first retirement of the night.

Lando Norris took an aggressive approach to the first corner, opening the door to Verstappen | Credit: Formula One

A front-wing damage for Liam Lawson after tagging Piastri eventually invited the VSC, neutralising the race, while Lewis Hamilton starting dead last had managed to make up seven positions just before the VSC. 

As we returned to green flag conditions on Lap 4, Bortoleto trundled into the pits as the second retirement, while Charles Leclerc went on the hunt behind Ollie Bearman, eventually taking seventh from the Haas rookie.

By Lap 5, the top five was occupied by Verstappen in the lead, followed by Russell, Norris, Sainz and Hadjar, the rookie making up three positions across the opening laps.

Meanwhile Alex Albon was on the move as well, and after a Q1 exit and being forced to start 16th, was now up to 13th.

At the head of the field, the 2024 Las Vegas winner Russell was beginning to pile up the pressure on Verstappen. Russell continued to run consistently within Verstappen’s DRS range, but the Red Bull driver was soon able to pull out of Russell’s reach and quickly recorded the fastest lap of the session.

Meanwhile outside the points, Hamilton was stuck in 12th with Albon for company, who was relentlessly hustling him along the Nevada street circuit. While Albon was on the attack, his teammate Sainz was playing defence against Hadjar in fifth.

Hadjar in turn was under pressure from Piastri, with Leclerc not far behind, the Ferrari driver quipping over the airwaves: “I’m pushing like an animal.”

Leclerc’s efforts paid off with a swift move on Piastri for sixth through Turn 11, the McLaren driver losing a critical position to both Leclerc and Hadjar soon after, while up the road, championship rival Norris had just set the fastest lap.

From Laps 14 through 15, Leclerc’s charge continued as he braved his way past Hadjar with a late-braking move, while the second Ferrari of Hamilton was clipped by Albon, scattering more debris on track and prompting the Williams driver to peel into the pits for checks.

On Lap 16, the VSC was duly brought out for a track clean-up.

Meanwhile, Antonelli who had started on the softs from 17th and had already made an early pit stop, was given a five-second time penalty for a false start.

The race quickly returned to action, just as Piastri managed to move past Hadjar for sixth. 

Russell was the first of the front-runners to pit, closely followed by Bearman, both drivers swapping mediums for the hard compound.

Norris was then promoted to second, and crucially for the Briton, he had the benefit of clean air to push and attempt to eke out a gap.

Hadjar was the next to pit on Lap 21, while in the lower reaches of the points, Hamilton had shuffled up to ninth following an overtake on Esteban Ocon, which became eighth after the Racing Bulls’ stop.

On Lap 22, Piastri took to the pits, rejoining the pack in 10th. 

Meanwhile, Albon received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Hamilton, and was also handed a reprimand for a starting procedure infringement.

His teammate Sainz was then called into the pits to cover off Piastri’s stop, with Norris following suit. 

Although Sainz rejoined ahead of Piastri, the Australian driver made light work of the Williams car and moved up to ninth. 

By Lap 24, the top five included Verstappen, Leclerc, Russell, Norris along with Nico Hülkenberg silently making his way up from starting 11th. 

Of these drivers, the top two and the Sauber driver were yet to pit. Leclerc changed that on the next lap and rejoined the track in ninth behind Piastri, the McLaren driver successfully undercutting both Leclerc and Sainz.

Verstappen continued this cycle of stops on Lap 26, and critically, was able to maintain the race lead ahead of Russell after switching to the hards.

As the race reached its second half, the battle for the win resumed between Verstappen and Russell. Ocon was the next to pit, leaving Hülkenberg and Hamilton running fourth and fifth respectively the only drivers yet to stop. 

Ferrari decided to pit the seven-time champion on Lap 30 of 50, who was able to come back just inside the points but found himself in a fight for 10th with Alonso in 11th. 

The former teammates engaged in a close, wheel-to-wheel battle through Turn 17, but a few corners later, the much younger Bearman made an appearance and took away 11th from Alonso.

With everyone now having made their stops, the points order on Lap 35 was Verstappen, Russell, Norris, Antonelli (with the penalty hanging over him), Piastri, Leclerc, Sainz, Hadjar, Hülkenberg and Hamilton.

The battle for first had now lost steam, inviting Norris to breeze past Russell down The Strip and through Turns 15 and 16.

Norris, now back in the fight for the win, was encouraged by his race engineer to go on the attack, while Verstappen was in turn cheekily informed: “Lando [Norris] has been told to come and get you.”

Meanwhile, Albon was ordered to retire the car after a frustrating weekend for the Thai driver who was unable to capitalise on his car’s pace, while his teammate Sainz was seventh on the road – still a decent points haul for Williams despite the podium slipping out of their grasp.

Ahead of Sainz, a three-way battle for fourth was being fought by Piastri and Leclerc, the two attacking Antonelli.

Piastri, sandwiched between the pair, was frustratingly being held up by the Mercedes rookie with the five-second penalty, Antonelli playing the team game to protect Russell’s podium from Piastri and Russell.

With under 10 laps to go, time was running out for Piastri to potentially attack Russell for third, with only fourth guaranteed. 

Up in the race lead, Verstappen had built a near six-second gap to Norris, while in third, Russell lost seven tenths to Antonelli, clearly nursing an issue showing in his lack of pace.

With five laps to go, the trio of Antonelli, Piastri and Leclerc continued to snake around the circuit within DRS range. The Italian rookie, despite being on 42-lap old hard tyres, was rapid on track and continued to shut the door on Piastri, massively assisting Russell and protecting his podium.

Up the road, Verstappen was now enjoying a whopping 20-second gap to Norris, who also appeared to be nursing an issue, joining Russell as the two podium-running drivers to limp their way to the end.

Verstappen celebrates his 69th career win | Credit: Formula One

Norris managed to Lift-and-Coast his way to the flag ahead of Russell also with damage, while with Antonelli’s penalty applied, the points-paying positions were occupied by Piastri in fourth, followed by Antonelli, Leclerc, Sainz, Hadjar, Hülkenberg and Hamilton.

Full results can be found here.

Championship Standings

Norris' grip on the championship has tightened with his second-place finish ahead of Piastri's fourth place, and though Verstappen remains an outside threat, the title is comfortably in Norris' reach.

With a 30-point buffer to Piastri, Norris simply needs to keep it clean over the next two rounds to bring home a maiden championship, while Piastri will have to hope for an immense reversal of fortunes to challenge his teammate who has been in formidable form lately.

Meanwhile Verstappen's title chances remain mathematically possible, though slim, and taking second in the standings would be a more realistic target for the Dutchman.

In the Constructors' standings, Mercedes cement their P2 spot while Ferrari continue to drift away from both second and Red Bull in third.

Key Quotes

Following another dominant victory, Verstappen shared: "It worked really well, normally the race is a a tough one for us but today I unlocked some pace, could stay out longer and that helped a lot.

"The car was working well, much more to my liking."

Commenting on his race start, polesitter Norris admitted: "I let Max [Verstappen] have a win, let him go, let him have a nice race! No, it was my mistake, I ***** up."

Meanwhile, Russell was just happy to finish on the podium, sharing: "I pushed hard to get Max and just damaged my tyres, I wasn't sure they'd make it to the end.

"Just pleased to get a podium."

Up Next

The penultimate race of the year will be hosted by Qatar, also treating us to one final sprint weekend of 2025. As the championship picture becomes clearer, Qatar will bring back the racing action from 28th to 30th November.