LAS VEGAS — Max Verstappen claimed his second Las Vegas Grand Prix win ahead of championship leader Lando Norris to keep his championship chances alive.
Norris clinched second place, but in a dramatic turn of events was later disqualified by stewards, along with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, for illegal plank wear.
The decision came five hours after the race finished, and puts pressure on the McLaren drivers’ championship hopes as Verstappen goes level with Piastri on points and Norris’ lead is cut to 24 points.
There are a maximum of 58 points available with two grands prix remaining, including one sprint race at next week’s Qatar Grand Prix.
Verstappen won the Las Vegas race by almost 21 seconds as Norris hit late car trouble. Norris denied Mercedes driver George Russell second place before the line, but the disqualification result means both Mercedes drivers have now been elevated to the podium.
Piastri finished a distant fourth as his run of failing to finish ahead of teammate Norris, which stretches back to his win at the Dutch Grand Prix in late August, continued.
Verstappen looked dead and buried coming out of the summer break, but he has moved back into contention with what will go down as one of F1’s great late-season charges. The Dutchman has now won four of the seven races since the break.
The Dutchman seized control of Saturday night’s event on the opening lap of the race. Norris had started from the pole position and moved across the track aggressively to keep the Red Bull driver and reigning four-time world champion behind but then ran deep at Turn 1.
That allowed Verstappen to pass Norris at the next corner and also allowed Russell to get past him for second. Despite a brief spell where Russell was in DRS range of Verstappen, his lead never looked to be under threat.
McLaren had sounded confident of catching Verstappen in the closing laps, but a late car issue saw Norris drop dramatically back in the closing laps, albeit not enough for Russell to catch him.
Piastri, starting fifth, might have been better placed to capitalize had he had a better start; the Australian was lucky to escape a race ender when he was hit by Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson at Turn 1.
At one point, Piastri was running seventh, but a smartly timed pit stop and a five-second jump start penalty for Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli saw Piastri climb to fourth position by race’s end, before his disqualification.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc finished sixth (now fourth) behind Antonelli. And although Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton charged from the back of the grid to 10th (now eighth), it was another bitterly disappointing weekend for the Scuderia at what most predicted would be its final opportunity to get a grand prix victory in 2025.
Williams driver Carlos Sainz finished seventh (now fifth), ahead of Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar and Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg.
Additional reporting by ESPN’s Nate Saunders in Las Vegas.
