The Weekend Debrief: Las Vegas Grand Prix – Bright Lights and Higher Stakes

Vegas was always going to be about spectacle. A night race on the Strip, neon lights reflecting on carbon fibre, Formula One yet again the biggest show. Beneath the lights and the extravagance, the story that emerged was simpler: an old-school Max Verstappen performance and a mighty McLaren mistake.

Max Verstappen won on the road; that part was as easy as ever for him. What followed in the stewards’ room, and in the championship standings, added yet another twist in the tale of this season.

Norris and McLaren: The Biggest Losers

Lando Norris arrived in Vegas with the cards firmly in his hands. Pole position under the lights seemed to underline that. But from the moment the lights went out, this was not the smooth, controlled weekend McLaren had bet on.

Norris defended hard off the line, cutting aggressively across Verstappen. It was bold, but not out of character and became the first sign that he had gone all in too quickly as he ran long into the first corner. Verstappen accepted the gift gratefully and slipped through into the lead, with George Russell following suit up into second. From there, the chase began.

Norris composed himself, reset, passed Russell, and set off after Verstappen. For a brief spell, it seemed as though there might be a late-race duel on the Strip. Norris asked on the radio whether to attack or not – he was told to “go and get Max.” He tried. He failed.

The McLaren faded just as the Red Bull found its feet. Late in the race, Norris was told to back off, lift and coast to manage an issue in order to nurse the car to the flag. Everyone thought fuel, but it was to be much worse than that.

Hours later, both McLarens were disqualified. Post-race checks found that the skid blocks, the composite planks under the cars designed to stop them running too low, were worn beyond the permitted limit. McLaren pointed the finger: bumps on the track, limited dry data, porpoising, and accidental damage. The FIA accepted that it was not deliberate, but it made the consequence no less severe. A car either complies or it does not.

Norris lost his hard-earned second place, with Piastri losing fourth. Thirty points for the team swiftly became none.

And with that, the championship picture changed. Norris still leads, but the gap is now only a measly twenty-four points – not just to one driver, but to two. Verstappen and Piastri are suddenly level on points behind him, with a total of fifty-eight still available over the final two weekends. Qatar, with its sprint, is first on the menu before the grand finale in Abu Dhabi.

Norris needs to gain a further two points on his rivals to be crowned champion in Qatar. It is very much still his to lose.

Verstappen’s Vegas Victory: Against the Odds

Max Verstappen took his chances this weekend and capitalised. After being handed the lead when Norris overshot his braking point into Turn One, he showed the type of race management that has defined so much of his recent dominance.

Through virtual safety cars and strategy gambles, Verstappen never ceded control. Russell tried the undercut on hard tyres. Norris attempted to fight on track. Neither could do anything to touch the Red Bull after Verstappen settled into his rhythm.

This was the Dutchman’s sixth win of the year, just one behind each of the McLaren drivers. For a car that has spent much of the season playing catch-up to the papaya team, that is significant. Before the disqualifications, his title chances looked slim at best. After them, he leaves Vegas within touching distance.

Max Verstappen has been calmer this season, more nonchalant. The reality is crystal clear: he is well and truly in the game – and no one needs reminding what he can do when there is a sniff of a title chance.

Mercedes Cash In

For the Silver Arrows, Las Vegas proved to be a mixed bag. Russell’s race was solid rather than spectacular. An early stop, onto the hard compound tyre, gave him track position but he never really had the pace to pressure Verstappen and was picked off by Norris before McLaren’s fate was decided. Second was his.

Antonelli continued to impress, with the Italian teenager running a long, controlled race on the hard compound. He absorbed a lot of pressure and managed a five-second penalty for a start line infringement. However, he never unravelled. He took the flag fourth on the track and was later rewarded with his second consecutive podium.

Their performance did not set the Strip alight, but it was quietly impressive. 2026 and the new regulations could bring Mercedes back to the top – but will it be Kimi Antonelli or George Russell waving the flag from the front?

Hamilton: Out of Luck, Out of Answers

It has been mentioned frequently this season that Lewis Hamilton’s first year in red has veered from frustration to dismay, and Las Vegas did little to change the mood. Last on the grid after the worst qualifying session of his career on pure pace, he fought his way through to tenth on the road, later promoted to eighth after the disqualifications.

Hamilton insisted there was “nothing positive” to take from the day and it seems that no matter how much he tries, “it keeps getting worse” – with the damning line being his admission that he is not “looking forward to next season.”

Ferrari will naturally argue that those comments were made in the heat of the moment, and team principal Fred Vasseur has already called for calm. However, for a seven-time world champion to publicly appear so lost and disheartened says plenty. Ferrari are now fourth in the Constructors’. Hamilton is still without a Grand Prix podium in red. And the pressure is getting ever more intense.

Two Weekends, Three Contenders

With the Las Vegas lights in their mirrors, the scene for the top three has been set.

Norris still has one hand on the trophy he has always dreamt of holding, leading his rivals by twenty-four points. Piastri and Verstappen follow within touching distance. Qatar and Abu Dhabi to go. One sprint, two Grand Prix races, fifty-eight points on the table.

Norris needs to outscore his hunters by two points to be crowned champion in Doha. Fail to do that, and the fight goes the distance to Abu Dhabi, where a Red Bull driver could pull off one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the sport, or a formidable teammate could regain his form and prove he has everything to gain and nothing to lose.

For all the glitz and glamour of Vegas, it is the smallest moments – and two skid blocks – that could be the deciding factor.