Formula 1 in Las Vegas
Starting coup: Verstappen wins and postpones the World Cup decision
Updated 11/23/2025 – 6:38 amReading time: 2 minutes
The race in the gambling stronghold begins with a spectacular scene. Right in the middle: two title candidates. And Max Verstappen shortens again.
Max Verstappen still has the last theoretical chance to defend his Formula 1 title. The Red Bull driver won the Las Vegas Grand Prix after a strong start and was able to further shorten the gap to the current world championship leader Lando Norris two races before the end of the season.
The four-time world champion beat his competitor Norris (McLaren) in the US gambling stronghold and, with 366 points, is now 42 points behind the Brit (408) and can therefore mathematically still defend his title.
Oscar Piastri remains the weakest of the three title contenders: The Australian came fourth and lost further points to Norris. He is now 30 points behind his teammate.
Mercedes driver George Russell came third in Las Vegas. Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber) was once again able to record a respectable success: the only German in the field made it into the top ten and crossed the finish line in ninth place.
The action continues next weekend in Qatar, where a maximum of 33 points can be scored in the penultimate race of the season and the last sprint. The final will take place in Abu Dhabi on December 7th. Norris wants to be crowned world champion for the first time there at the latest, but there is still a long way to go.
In Las Vegas, Norris showed nerves for the first time in weeks. “It would be good not to lag behind for too long,” Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko said on Sky. Verstappen will put “everything on attack” at the start – and this psychological game had an effect: Norris tried to cut off Verstappen’s path. He managed to do that, but as a result he missed the turn-in point into the first corner and had to let the Dutchman and, a little later, Russell pass.
Verstappen was initially under pressure from Russell for a few laps, but the Englishman couldn’t follow the defending champion’s pace for too long and quickly slipped out of the DRS window. Russell also complained about problems with the steering wheel. Norris followed a little behind in third and avoided major risks. Probably also to protect the tires.
Things were more turbulent further back in the field. Charles Leclerc overtook Piastri, who, like all weekend, couldn’t get going in the McLaren. Record champion Lewis Hamilton worked his way up from last place on the grid; the Englishman also benefited from the wild start phase in his Ferrari with a few collisions and slips from other drivers.