LAS VEGAS — A year after clinching his fourth consecutive World Drivers’ Championship on the Strip, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen maintained what appeared at the to be a sliver of hope for a fifth with a stellar showing at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Verstappen took advantage of a first-lap mishap by McLaren’s Lando Norris to claim the checkered flag Saturday night at the street circuit for the second time in the race’s third modern iteration.
The win left Verstappen 42 points behind leader Norris and 12 behind Oscar Piastri in second with two races to go. But during postrace inspection, the F1 technical delegate found that the rearmost skid on the cars of both Norris and Piastri were below the required minimum thickness.
“I am referring this matter to the stewards for consideration,” the delegate, Jo Bauer, issued in a report that was posted to X.
The infractions could lead to disqualification for both Norris and Piastri.
According to ESPN, the point deductions that would come with the DQs would leave Verstappen level with Piastri and 24 points behind Norris with next weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the first weekend in December the season’s remaining races.
Norris, the polesitter for Saturday’s race, made what could only be called a recklessly aggressive move in an attempt to block Verstappen from overtaking him on the inside. As a result, Norris briefly went off the track 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 attempted to make a late push to surpass Verstappen for the win. But it proved to be a futile attempt, and Verstappen only lengthened the gap as Norris hung onto second place despite a late fuel shortage.
After having his two-race win streak snapped, the 26-year-old wasn’t talking about championship hopes but rather disappointment with his showing in Vegas.
“I’m pretty disappointed,” Norris said before the post-race investigation was announced. “I still take P2 as a good result, I’m pretty happy because of it. But I’m not happy because it’s P2, and we gave ourselves a good opportunity yesterday to try and win the race. Of course, I messed it up and made my life tougher into turn one, but even after that we just weren’t quick enough.”
Saturday’s win marks Verstappen’s eighth consecutive podium finish and his fourth win in the last seven Grand Prixs. He made it clear entering Saturday’s race that he wasn’t thinking about his outside shot at the title and reaffirmed that belief after his victory. Rather, he sees this late-season push as the best way to corral momentum for a more consistent 2026.
“From the middle of 2024 to the middle of 2025, we were probably off the podium more than on,” Verstappen said before the post-race investigation. “Now, at least we are always fighting for second or third place. For us, I think that’s a very good step forward. That should have been the case from the start, but unfortunately we didn’t get it right in the beginning.”
Russell rounded out the podium with a third-place finish, posting another successful weekend in Las Vegas after winning the Grand Prix in 2024. Russell’s Mercedes teammate and rookie Kimi Antonelli also notched an impressive performance and crossed the line in fourth place after starting 17th on the grid. However, he was assessed a 5-second penalty for moving before the lights went out at the start of the race and officially finished fifth.
Turn 1 brought more drama on the first lap, as Piastri narrowly dodged what would have been a championship-deciding incident. VCARB’s Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri and was forced to retire from the race due to front wing damage, but Piastri avoided severe damage himself and was able to continue his growingly unlikely title bid.
–Will Despart, Field Level Media
