Max Verstappen achieved his 18th victory of the Formula 1 season on Sunday (Saturday, local time) at the Las Vegas GP. After some skepticism, the American race proved to be a success, with on-track action and uncertainty about the winner and podium positions until the very end.
Race summary
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) had the pole position, but the driver slipped too much at the start and lost the lead to Verstappen (Red Bull). However, to complete the overtaking maneuver, the Dutchman forced the rival off the track, which earned him a five-second penalty.
Further back, a spin from Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) led to some incidents at the first corner. Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) were among those involved, having to stop at the pits at the end of the opening lap.
On the third lap, Lando Norris lost control of his car, hit the barriers, and was out of control until he crashed into the barriers at the end of an escape route. The accident brought out the safety car and forced the driver to go to the hospital.
After the neutralization, Verstappen maintained the lead ahead of Leclerc, but couldn’t significantly increase the gap as seen on other occasions in 2023. However, the Monegasque managed to close the distance and on lap 16, took the lead with an overtaking maneuver on the track just before Verstappen changed tires. During the pit stop, he served the penalty.
As for Leclerc, he stayed on track to try to build an advantage with medium tires that were still working, heading to the pits after lap 21. He returned to the track in third place behind two drivers who had already changed tires after the chaos of the first few laps – Pérez and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin).
Meanwhile, Verstappen and George Russell (Mercedes) were in a direct battle for position when the British driver turned normally into a corner while the three-time champion was on the inside completing an overtaking maneuver. The debris on the track caused another intervention from the safety car, and Russell would be penalized for the maneuver.
During the neutralization, Pérez and Verstappen fitted new sets of hard tires, while Leclerc stayed on track. After the restart, Pérez completed the overtaking maneuver on Leclerc on lap 32, but the Monegasque did not give up and regained the lead three laps later.
At that point, Verstappen was very close and, in less than ten laps, took the lead: first he overtook Pérez on lap 37 and then surpassed Leclerc on lap 43. The Dutchman was able to create a short but secure gap, staying out of the reach of attacks from #16… who was overtaken again by Pérez.
Just when it seemed that the podium was set with a Red Bull one-two, on the final lap, Leclerc overtook Pérez again to finish second. Verstappen was the winner with a 2.070s advantage over Leclerc, while Pérez finished third, 2.241s behind.
Esteban Ocon (Alpine) made his best result in a long time with fourth place ahead of Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), with Sainz recovering to sixth after the incident he was involved in at the first corner. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) also had an incident, which forced him to make an unplanned pit stop, but still finished seventh ahead of Russell – who crossed the finish line in fourth, but with a five-second penalty finished eighth. Alonso and Oscar Piastri (McLaren), the latter with the fastest lap, completed the top ten.
Results:
