Despite Verstappen's victory: Preliminary decision in Las Vegas

Max Verstappen has kept the World Championship exciting for at least another week and, after an overconfident start maneuver by leader Lando Norris in front of the glittering backdrop in Las Vegas, has mathematically remained in the title race.

23 November 2025

From: dpa/dl

The four-time Formula 1 world champion from Red Bull won the Grand Prix ahead of the Briton and reduced his deficit by seven points at the site of his 2024 world championship triumph.

Norris made a mistake in his 150th Grand Prix with McLaren in the first 300 meters and had to push hard to finish second ahead of last year's winner, George Russell, in the Mercedes. The 26-year-old can clinch his first title at the upcoming Grand Prix in Qatar this weekend and dethrone his friend Verstappen. Norris' teammate, Oscar Piastri, currently second in the championship, missed out on the podium again, finishing fourth.

Norris offers comfortable service

Ahead of the two final Grand Prix races on the next two weekends, Norris leads the standings with 408 points. Piastri is 30 points behind, while Verstappen is still a staggering 42 points adrift – he would need a minor miracle to secure his fifth consecutive World Championship title.

The race in Las Vegas

In Las Vegas, unlike the qualifying session the day before, when Norris had secured pole position ahead of Verstappen in the rain, the track was dry on race day. At the start, Norris covered the inside line on the short run to the first corner but braked too late. Not only Verstappen, but also Russell overtook the championship leader. However, a positive for the Briton was that Piastri had been forced wide by Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson, losing a position and therefore starting the remaining laps only in sixth place.

Lando Norris finished second and controls his own destiny with two races remaining. © APA/afp / FREDERIC J. BROWN

In the second lap, several marshals caused a moment of panic when they rushed into the run-off area to collect debris from the car, without deploying a (virtual) safety car. On lap 12 of 50 at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Piastri suffered another setback when the Australian was overtaken by Charles Leclerc's Ferrari. Shortly afterward, Russell reported steering problems, just as he had in qualifying, but the defending champion was able to maintain Verstappen's pace.

After the first and only round of pit stops, nothing changed at the front, with Piastri meanwhile fighting his way up to fifth place. Norris closed the gap to Russell and asked in the pits if he should overtake the "Silver Arrow." The Englishman received the go-ahead and passed Russell on lap 34. However, the McLaren driver failed to reduce the gap to Verstappen in an uneventful final phase. Instead, Norris slowed down considerably, and Verstappen pulled away to a lead of more than 20 seconds.

Formula 1 in Las Vegas is pure spectacle. © APA / CLIVE MASON

Behind them, Piastri benefited from a five-second penalty for Kimi Antonelli, who was in fourth place, after a false start. The Mercedes rookie dropped back to fifth, but remained just ahead of Leclerc.