The top three of the Las Vegas GP: Sergio Pérez (3rd), winner Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc (2nd). — © Getty Images
Max Verstappen (26) has won his eighteenth (!) Grand Prix of the season in Las Vegas. The Dutchman was not given the gift of a five-second penalty, but was eventually able to complete his overtaking race. Charles Leclerc stole second place from Sergio Pérez on the last lap after a clever overtaking maneuver.
Charles Leclerc started the Las Vegas GP from pole, but it was Max Verstappen who immediately took the lead at the start. Verstappen did not do this legally and was therefore given a five-second penalty. The start of the race was also marred by several crashes. For example, no fewer than four cars (those of Carlos Sainz, Sergio Pérez, Valtteri Bottas and Fernando Alonso) were involved in a crash, but the damage was not too bad. After three laps, Lando Norris’s race was over, as he hit the wall hard. After seventeen laps, Leclerc took over the leading position from Verstappen, who immediately drove into the pits and served his five-second penalty. The Dutchman thus faded into the background. At that time, Lewis Hamilton was already at the tail end of the race, after suffering a flat tire in contact with Oscar Piastri. The seven-time world champion therefore dropped to eighteenth place.
Leclerc came out after his pit stop in third place, behind Pérez and Lance Stroll. Pérez still had to change tires and received help from the safety car. The Mexican returned to the track in second place after the tire change. The safety car was caused by contact between Verstappen and Russell, with the latter in particular suffering a lot of damage and sinking completely. The Briton was also blamed for the collision and was punished by the stewards.
The safety car put Leclerc under pressure from Pérez, who was able to pass the Monegasque a little later. Leclerc was caught in a Red Bull sandwich, as Verstappen had now moved up to third place. But moments later the roles were reversed, when Leclerc Pérez cleverly passed Pérez on the inside. Verstappen also passed the Mexican and so we had another Verstappen-Pérez duel. Barely one lap later, Verstappen passed Leclerc. The Dutchman also immediately drove away from Leclerc, who was mainly looking in his mirror to see where Pérez was sitting. The Monegasque perhaps looked a little too much in his mirror, because he missed his braking point a few laps from the end and saw the Mexican flash past. Red Bull seemed to be on its way to a one-two, until Pérez let Leclerc pass on the inside on the last lap. Leclerc eventually finished second. — © Getty Images
RashWinner Verstappen. — © Getty Images
- Max Verstappen
- Charles Leclerc
- Sergio Pérez
- George Russell
- Esteban Ocon
- Lance Stroll
- Carlos Sainz
- Lewis Hamilton
- Fernando Alonso
- Oscar Piastri
DNF Yuki Tsunoda
DNF Nico Hulkenberg
DNF Lando Norris