Verstappen Beats Leclerc And Perez To Victory In Action-Packed Las Vegas Grand Prix

Max Verstappen won the Las Vegas Grand Prix, beating Ferrari opponent Charles Leclerc and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez to the finish line in a race marked by multiple collisions and Safety Car periods.

Verstappen gained the lead from Leclerc at the start of the race but was immediately awarded a five-second time penalty for driving his adversary off the track and was then passed by the pole-sitter before serving it during the first round of pit stops.

In an opening stint dominated by graining problems, Leclerc ran longer into the race before changing tires, only for a Safety Car to appear shortly afterward, allowing Verstappen and several other drivers to pit again under caution.

At the pivotal restart, Leclerc took the lead from Perez, who had benefited from an early stop due to an incident on the first lap, but his aging tires put him under significant pressure.

Verstappen lit up the timesheets in the final circuits to overtake both his teammate and the leading Ferrari for a historic win in the City of Lights, while Perez had followed him through to form a one-two, only to be passed again on the final lap by a determined Leclerc.

Behind, Esteban Ocon’s stunning comeback earned him and Alpine fourth place despite being just beaten to the finish by Mercedes’ George Russell. On the other hand, Russell was carrying a five-second time penalty for a collision with Verstappen that brought out the Safety above the Car.

Russell’s penalty also propelled Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin to fifth place

Russell’s penalty also propelled Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin to fifth place, while Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton’s sister Mercedes – who collided at Turn 1 – also benefited to finish sixth and seventh.

After starting fourth, Pierre Gasly held points for the duration of the race, but a drop down the order for the Alpine saw him finish 11th, with Alex Albon suffering a similar fate in his Williams.

Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo had lonely races for Haas and AlphaTauri, finishing P13 and P14, respectively, with the Alfa Romeos of Zhou Gaunyu and Valtteri Bottas – the latter also caught out at Turn 1 – and Williams rookie Logan Sargeant rounding out the top 10.

Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri and Nico Hulkenberg of Haas both retired in the late stages due to apparent technical issues, joining Norris on the list of retirees and watching the race from the sidelines.

Following three thrilling days of racing under the lights in Las Vegas, F1 will head to the Yas Marina Circuit for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix next weekend.

Following a frantic qualifying session on the all-new Las Vegas Strip Circuit

Following a frantic qualifying session on the all-new Las Vegas Strip Circuit, the focus quickly shifted to Saturday night’s 50-lap spectacle, with the race start and probable tire graining designated as two critical components to victory under the lights.

Leclerc would start on pole, with Verstappen joining him on the first row, while an engine penalty sent Sainz back to 12th, and a five-place grid reduction for Stroll – due to a yellow flag infringement in practice – dropped the Aston Martin back to 19th.

When the tire blankets were removed, it was discovered that most of the field would start on the medium compound, with Hamilton, Zhou, and Piastri opting for hards and Stroll and Tsunoda going aggressive on softs.

The lights went down at 22:00 local time, and the racing began, with Verstappen darting up the inside of Leclerc into Turn 1 and throwing both drivers wide as he took the lead, which he defended on the long run down to Turn 5.

Russell was third behind Gasly, Albon, Sargeant, and Magnussen, and Ocon and Stroll were both in the top ten after fantastic first laps, but there was drama elsewhere as Alonso spun on his own and Sainz understeered into Hamilton.

Verstappen Beats Leclerc And Perez To Victory In Action-Packed Las Vegas Grand Prix

The Virtual Safety Car was deployed to clear debris, after which Perez and Bottas – who also collided in the Turn 1 bottleneck – joined the recuperating Alonso in the pits for repairs.

“We’re happy you were ahead,” was the radio transmission to leader Verstappen during the neutralization, while Leclerc warned that “this needs to be addressed now” and that it would be a “joke” if the reigning world champion did not receive a penalty.

On Lap 3, the VSC was lifted, and racing resumed, but only for a few moments when Norris lost control of his vehicle entering Turn 11, slammed into the barriers, and nearly took out teammate Piastri, resulting in a full Safety vehicle and more pit stops from Stroll and Sainz.

Verstappen handled the restart – and the challenging, cold conditions – to maintain his lead over Leclerc, but the stewards quickly confirmed a five-second time penalty for the Turn 1 incident. “Yeah, that’s fine, send them my regards!” Verstappen responded with a wry remark.

While Russell and Gasly remained focused on Verstappen and Leclerc, a distance was opening up to the cars behind, with Albon and Sargeant remaining fifth and sixth for Williams, Ocon seventh, Piastri eighth as another to make a solid start, and Hamilton ninth after a move on Magnussen.

Sargeant’s tires appeared to hit the cliff after his strong qualifying performance and early circuits, as he fell from sixth to the tail-end of the top 10 in a couple of laps, while Perez was back in the points and coming back into the game via his early stop.

Verstappen Beats Leclerc And Perez To Victory In Action-Packed Las Vegas Grand Prix

Up front, Verstappen had similar tire issues, delivering a sweary radio message about the status of his rubber and was instructed to pit, but only after Leclerc recaptured the lead of the race on Lap 16, sending the packed grandstands berserk

Another wheel-to-wheel duel saw Hamilton and Piastri collide, causing the Mercedes to puncture and the McLaren to spark its way back to the pits – an event the stewards investigated but determined did not warrant further action.

As the race neared Lap 20, the yet-to-pit Leclerc led Perez by 14 seconds, with Ocon in third, followed by Stroll, Sainz, Alonso, Zhou (another yet-to-pit), Russell, Verstappen (having served his penalty), and Gasly.

After a few laps, Leclerc returned to the pits for a new set of tires, following the pattern of switching from mediums to hards, with the Monegasque finishing third behind Perez and Stroll, who continued to gain track position on their different tactics.

Piastri remained fourth, separated from the bickering Alpines by Stroll’s Aston Martin, as Russell, Sainz, and Alonso held the final points after Albon lost a hatful of places in minutes as Williams’ race unraveled.

When Perez applied further pressure to Leclerc, the Ferrari locked up entering Turn 14 and ceded the position to his Red Bull competitor, resulting in a one-two finish for the reigning world champions.

Verstappen Beats Leclerc And Perez To Victory In Action-Packed Las Vegas Grand Prix

However, as the laps counted down, Leclerc remained within DRS range of Perez and threatened retaliation, which he eventually delivered on the last tour with another successful move into the Turn 14 braking zone.

Verstappen crossed the finish line a few seconds later to win, with Perez chasing Leclerc and completing the podium spots – still good enough for second in the drivers’ standings.

Ocon was pipped to fourth place by Russell at the finish, but the Mercedes driver slipped to eighth – behind Stroll, Sainz, and Hamilton – after his penalty for colliding with Verstappen was applied.

“It was a tough one,” race winner Verstappen said. “At first, I tried to go for it [with Leclerc].” We both braked late, then I ran out of grip and ended up a little wide, so the stewards penalized me for that. Of course, this placed us on the back foot; I had to overtake several cars before reaching the Safety Car. There was already a lot going on in the race at this stage.

“Once we had the message all the way through, we could go full throttle.” You could see that the DRS around here was potent, so even if you took the lead, the guy behind would still have an opportunity to come back at you if he stayed in the DRS. It created a lot of fantastic racing here today, so it was a lot of fun.”

SOURCE – (F1)