Max Verstappen delivered a champion’s drive under the neon lights of Nevada, storming to victory at the Las Vegas Grand Prix 2025 and keeping his faint hopes of a fifth Formula 1 world title alive.
The Red Bull superstar capitalized on an early mistake by polesitter Lando Norris, controlled the pace, and never looked back.
The Race hads begin, Norris, leading the championship, swept aggressively across Verstappen on the run to Turn 1 — only to overshoot the braking point. Verstappen slipped through cleanly, taking a lead he would maintain throughout the night.
Behind them, George Russell executed a brilliant launch to snatch second, passing Carlos Sainz before muscling through to chase Verstappen.
Las Vegas’ opening sector turned into a demolition zone among chaos:
- Lance Stroll was eliminated on the spot after being hit by Gabriel Bortoleto.
- Liam Lawson, charging too aggressively, clipped Oscar Piastri, sending the McLaren down to P7.
- Pierre Gasly spun amid the carnage.
The marshals were still on the run-off as the pack began Lap 2, prompting a virtual safety car to restore order.
Amid the chaos, Lewis Hamilton surged from P19 to P12 — a much-needed recovery after his disastrous qualifying.
When racing resumed, Russell pushed hard using DRS to attack Verstappen. But once the tyres came alive, Verstappen began stretching his advantage, while Russell struggled with a steering issue he voiced over team radio:
“Steering, steering. F**k.”
The gap soon grew to nearly two seconds. Further back, Charles Leclerc began slicing through the midfield, while Hamilton found himself stuck behind Esteban Ocon and then clipped by Alex Albon, who misjudged a dive — forcing the Thai-Briton into repairs and triggering another short VSC.
Russell blinked first, pitting for hards on Lap 17. The stop gave Norris clear air — and the McLaren immediately unleashed blistering pace.
Piastri pitted next, dropping behind Kimi Antonelli, while Norris and Sainz came in a lap later. Norris rejoined behind Russell but with fresher tyres; Sainz was undercut by Piastri.
Leclerc extended longest but lost time — though he stayed ahead of Sainz.
Verstappen stopped at mid-distance, delayed by overshooting his marks, but still emerged just ahead of Russell
With tyre life on his side, Norris reeled in Russell and blasted past on Lap 34 using DRS before Turn 14. But Verstappen immediately responded with a fastest lap to maintain control of the Grand Prix.
Behind them, Piastri desperately hunted Antonelli — but the Italian rookie once again displayed phenomenal defensive driving, just like he did against Verstappen in Brazil. This slowed Piastri and allowed Leclerc to close in
With three laps to go, Norris suddenly began losing time — more than 10 seconds to Verstappen — but managed to nurse the McLaren home in second to protect his championship lead.
Verstappen crossed the line unchallenged, delivering the perfect response in the title fight.
Final Top 10 Results – Las Vegas GP
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Kimi Antonelli* (on track) → classified P5 after penalty
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
- Isack Hadjar (RB)
- Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
*Antonelli served a 5-second penalty for a jump start but still finished ahead of Leclerc on merit — another remarkable rookie performance.
Credit Photo : Red Bull Racing
