The Formula 1 season continued in the USA’s Las Vegas this weekend, a city best known for its heady mix of extravagantly themed hotels, gambling, live entertainment and Sin City reputation, and it was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who hit the jackpot after dominating today’s Grand Prix, which had begun at 8pm on Saturday local time (4am Sunday GMT). The second-place finish for McLaren’s Drivers’ Championship leader, Lando Norris, and fourth for his teammate Oscar Piastri extended the former’s advantage to 30 points, with Verstappen still third overall but only 12 points adrift of Piastri and 42 behind Norris.

McLaren had arrived with limited expectations, as it’s a low-grip circuit on which the team has struggled in the past amidst cool temperatures, and even Mercedes flew in downplaying its own chances, despite George Russell having won here last year from pole position. The three practice sessions were to feature mixed weather and a loose manhole cover before a treacherously wet qualifying hour, after which Norris and Verstappen emerged on top, with Piastri only fifth. It was worse still for Ferrari, though, as Charles Leclerc was only ninth fastest, and Lewis Hamilton was the slowest driver of all and dead last on pure pace for the first time in his 19-year F1 career.

The Grand Prix was held in dry but cold conditions, and at the start Norris cut to his left to block Verstappen, but the British driver carried too much speed into the opening left-hander and ran wide, allowing his Dutch rival to take a lead he was never to lose and letting Russell move into second place too. Most drivers completed the race in one stop, and after pit stops, Verstappen emerged victorious, followed by Russell, Norris, and Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli.

However, on lap 34 of 50, Norris usurped Russell for second position, leaving Antonelli, Piastri and Leclerc to have a great scrap for fourth. Concerns about fuel levels forced Norris to reduce his pace as the finish line approached, yet the young Somersetian managed to keep Russell at a distance behind him. Antonelli finished fourth on track, but a five-second penalty for a marginal starting grid infringement dropped the teenage Italian to fifth, behind Piastri but ahead of Leclerc. Meanwhile, Hamilton recovered from his dreadful qualifying performance to finish tenth, albeit just under a minute behind the victorious Verstappen.

The action will continue next weekend with a sprint race and Grand Prix in Qatar, and the season will then conclude just seven days later in Abu Dhabi, with the outcome of the thrilling battle for the 2025 Drivers’ title still to be decided.
2025 Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1hr21m8.429s
2 Lando Norris (McLaren) +20.741s
3 George Russell (Mercedes) +23.546s
4 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +27.650s
5 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +30.488s
6 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +30.678s
7 Carlos Sainz (Williams) +34.924s
8 Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +45.257s
9 Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber) +51.134s
10 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +59.369s
11 Esteban Ocon (Haas) +1m0.635s
12 Oliver Bearman (Haas) +1m10.549s
13 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +1m25.308s
14 Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) +1m26.974s
15 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1m31.702s
16 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) Lapped
17 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) Lapped
18 Alex Albon (Williams) Retried
19 Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) Retired
20 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) Retired


2025 Drivers’ Championship
1 Lando Norris 408
2 Oscar Piastri 378
3 Max Verstappen 366

2025 Constructors’ Championship
1 McLaren 786
2 Mercedes 423
3 Red Bull 391