Max Verstappen of Red Bull won the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday, but Lando Norris of McLaren has a shot at the title thanks to finishing second and extending his lead over Oscar Piastri’s 30-point lead.
After Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, who was ahead of the Australian at the chequered flag, added five seconds for jumping the start, Piastri placed fourth.
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The podium was secured for Mercedes by George Russell, who was the floodlit race’s winner last year and who, like Norris, made his 150th start.
With only two grands prix and a sprint remaining, Norris has 408 points, while Verstappen, who is four-times world champion, is still mathematically in contention with 366. Piastri has 378 points, with Verstappen having won the race twice.
With McLaren already clinching the constructors’ crown for the second year in a row, Norris finished 20.741 seconds clear of McLaren, who will now now have the opportunity to win his first title in Qatar next weekend.
A respectable gap
Verstappen rode to the podium with Terry Crews and Norris Russell in a LEGO pink Cadillac convertible as fireworks over the Strip lit up the sky. “The car was working pretty well, much more to my liking,” Verstappen said.
“A good gap was left at the end.”
Verstappen won the 69th time in his career, and it was Verstappen’s sixth of the season. He also won the 125th podium and eighth time in a row in Red Bull’s partnership with Honda, marking their 150th partnership grand prix.
Verstappen and Norris split up at the start, dropping to third when he ran wide at the first corner and opened the door for the Dutch driver and Russell.
On the 34th of the 50 laps, he reclaimed second place behind Russell, but he struggled to get to the finish line.
He made the joke, “I let Max win.” I allowed him to leave and had a pleasant race. No, he added, “I just braked too late,” giving an expletive from the live television feed that could cause trouble for the British citizen with the governing FIA.
“When the guy wins by 20 seconds, it’s because he has just done a better job and they’re a little quicker,” I said.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was sixth, and Carlos Sainz was seventh, while Antonelli came in fifth place. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg finished in the top 10, followed by Isack Hadjar, eighth, and Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari, eighth.
After making contact with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, who plunged last with a severely damaged car, Piastri dropped from fifth to seventh on the opening lap.
Verstappen rejoined in command after Russell and Norris had already switched to the hard tyre after 20 seconds of being 20 seconds clear of the field on lap 23.
As the Brazilian rookie slammed forcefully into the corner and ran out of road, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Sauber’s Gabriel Borteleto took him out right away.
Between turns one and four, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly activated the virtual safety car for marshals to retrieve debris. Gasly was also a spinner at the start.
After Williams’ Alex Albon and Hamilton collided, the latter racing from 19th and last on the grid to 13th on the opening lap, with the VSC deployed once more to remove debris from the track.
Albon was given a five-second penalty for causing the collision and reprimanded for an offense beginning with a starting procedure.
