Max Verstappen continued his historic run this season, picking up his 18th victory at the Las Vegas Grand Prix after fighting through a five-second penalty. The event was characterized by constant lead changes and aggressive passing, ending with Charles Leclerc snatching second place from Sergio Perez on the very last lap, while Esteban Ocon rounded out the top four for Alpine.
Formula 1 World champion Max Verstappen won the 18th race of his record-breaking season, overcoming a five-second penalty to win the Las Vegas Grand Prix. On the final lap, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc passed Red Bull’s Sergio Perez to take second position ahead of the Mexican, with Alpine’s French driver Esteban Ocon finishing fourth at the end of a race that featured many lead changes and lots of overtaking.
Despite his initial skepticism about F1 returning to Vegas after 41 years—labeling it a '99 percent show'—Verstappen embraced the moment, celebrating with 'Viva Las Vegas' on the team radio. He won by a narrow 2.070-second margin over Leclerc in a race that holds the record for the latest start time in the sport's history.
After starting in second, the Dutchman jumped to the front immediately but earned a five-second penalty for pushing Leclerc wide. The track's slippery conditions were highlighted when Lando Norris crashed into the wall at turn 14 during the fourth lap, leading to a precautionary hospital visit. Despite this, Leclerc remained a constant threat and managed to overtake Verstappen for the lead on lap 16.
Verstappen eventually served his penalty during a pit stop, which gave him the window to hunt down the leaders. When Leclerc pitted on lap 22, Sergio Perez moved into first. The race saw further tension when George Russell collided with Verstappen, damaging the latter's front wing; Russell was penalized five seconds, dropping him from fourth to eighth. While Leclerc and Perez fought for the lead, Verstappen closed the gap and made his winning move after passing Perez on lap 37.
Once in front, Verstappen dominated, while Leclerc slipped to third after a braking error that let Perez through. In a final twist, Leclerc fought back to reclaim second place. Elsewhere, Carlos Sainz recovered impressively from a 12th-place start to finish sixth, just behind Lance Stroll. The remaining spots were filled by Lewis Hamilton in seventh, George Russell in eighth, Fernando Alonso in ninth, and Oscar Piastri in tenth.
It was a demanding race. I pushed hard at the beginning, but we both braked late, and I simply lost traction and went wide, Verstappen explained.