MAX VERSTAPPEN DOMINATES VEGAS AS LANDO CLOSES IN ON F1 TITLE FIGHT
Max Verstappen won the Las Vegas GP, but Lando Norris extended his F1 title lead with a P2 finish. Norris is now 30 points clear of teammate Oscar Piastri and can clinch his first championship in Qatar.
_1763910087.webp)
Max Verstappen from Red Bull was the winner at the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday, but Lando Norris from McLaren is close to winning the Formula 1 title after he came in second, increasing his lead over his teammate Oscar Piastri to 30 points.
Piastri ended up in fourth place after Kimi Antonelli from Mercedes, who was ahead of the Australian when the race ended, had five seconds added to his time for starting too early.
George Russell, who won last year's race with the bright lights and is, like Norris, starting his 150th race, took third place for Mercedes.
With two more races and one short race to go, where a total of 58 points can be earned, Norris has 408 points compared to Piastri's 378, while Verstappen, who has won four world championships, still has a chance with 366 points.
Norris finished 20.741 seconds behind, but he now has the chance to win his first title in Qatar next weekend, and McLaren has already won the constructors' title for the second year in a row.
Quite a decent gap
Verstappen said, "The car was working quite well, much better than I expected," as he was driven to the podium with Norris and Russell in a pink Cadillac convertible made of LEGO bricks, driven by actor Terry Crews as fireworks lit up the sky above the Strip.
"In the end, there was quite a decent gap."
This was Verstappen's 69th victory in his career and his sixth this season, as well as his 125th time on the podium and eighth in a row in the 150th grand prix of Red Bull's partnership with Honda.
Norris lost the lead to Verstappen at the beginning, dropping to third when he went wide at the first turn, allowing the Dutch driver and Russell to pass him.
He took back second place from Russell on the 34th of 50 laps, but then he had to save fuel until the end.
"I let Max win," he joked. "I let him go and have a good race. No, I just braked too late," he added, using a bad word on live television, which could cause trouble for the Briton with the FIA, the sport's governing body.
"It wasn't my best performance, but when someone wins by 20 seconds, it's because they did a better job and are a bit faster."
Antonelli finished fifth, with Charles Leclerc from Ferrari in sixth and Carlos Sainz from Williams in seventh. Isack Hadjar came in eighth for Racing Bulls, and Nico Hulkenberg from Sauber and Lewis Hamilton from Ferrari finished in the top 10.
Piastri fell from fifth to seventh on the first lap after hitting Liam Lawson from Racing Bulls, who dropped to last place with a badly damaged car.
Verstappen was 20 seconds ahead of the others by lap 23 and made a pit stop at the halfway point, rejoining the race in the lead after Russell and Norris had already switched to the hard tyres.
Lance Stroll from Aston Martin was knocked out by Gabriel Bortoleto from Sauber when the Brazilian rookie drove aggressively into the first turn and ran out of room, causing both of them to retire immediately.
Pierre Gasly from Alpine also spun around when the race began, and a caution period was put in place during the second lap so workers could pick up pieces of car parts between the first and fourth turns.
The caution period was used once more on lap 16 because there were more pieces of cars on the track after Alex Albon from Williams and Hamilton crashed; Hamilton had moved up from 19th and last place to 13th place on the first lap.
Albon, whose team could not talk to him in his car from the very beginning, was given a five-second time penalty for causing the crash and was also warned for not following the correct steps at the start.
GEORGE RUSSELL ADMITS ANTONELLI IS "EXCEPTIONALLY QUICK" BUT REFUSES TO CONCEDE TITLE
Kimi Antonelli secured his 3rd straight F1 win in Miami, leaving George Russell 43 seconds behind and 20 points down in the title race. (130 chars)
George Russell isn’t flinching. He’s not ready to let go of the story, even as Kimi Antonelli keeps grabbing headlines. Antonelli’s been tearing it up this season – three straight wins, all from pole – and it’s got people talking. Miami was rough for Russell; he finished fourth, over 43 seconds behind Antonelli. That gap isn’t just big; it’s glaring, and it’s putting some real heat on their rivalry at Mercedes.
Russell isn’t pretending things are fine, but he’s not throwing in the towel either. He gets what Antonelli’s doing and gives props where they’re deserved. “He’s a fantastic driver, and he’s been fast since day one,” Russell said. “You don’t win all those championships as a kid if you’re not quick.” He means it, but he’s also drawing a boundary. Russell still believes in himself, and he’s not giving up on the championship.
“I’ve still got confidence in myself, and I haven’t forgotten how to drive,” he said with a little smile. “It’s just a tricky patch, but we’re only four races in; there’s a lot more to come. We’ll sort things out over the next few weeks.”
That “tricky patch” doesn’t just mean some tough luck; it includes a 20-point deficit and a teammate who won’t stop rewriting history. Antonelli’s winning streak has changed the vibe at Mercedes, at least for now.
Russell knows all about momentum and how it doesn’t always stick around. “He’s got momentum right now; he’s flying,” Russell admitted. “But I’ve won championships myself, and I know momentum swings back and forth all year.” He actually doesn’t seem bothered by the points gap. “Honestly, I’m not even thinking about it,” he said.
It’s a calm answer from a guy who’s been here before, leaning on experience while Antonelli rides his hot streak. Russell keeps saying 'big picture, patience, not panic'.
“I just want to get back on top of the podium,” he said. “I had the pace for the first three races, but this weekend I was nowhere close. It could have gone very differently these last few weeks, and this weekend could’ve just been a blip. But some races in Japan and China didn’t go my way. That’s how F1 goes sometimes.”
Still, confidence doesn’t erase a 20-point gap, not if Antonelli keeps cruising. If Antonelli keeps piling up wins, Russell’s going to have to fight more than just the stopwatch. Losing to your teammate over and over starts to mess with your head. Russell began the season as the guy to beat, but the longer this keeps up, the tougher it gets to grab hold of the story again.
He’s holding firm, for now. But F1 doesn’t wait for anyone. What does Russell call “just a tricky run”? Well, if momentum doesn’t swing his way soon, it could become a whole lot more than that.
MAX VERSTAPPEN TAKES FRONT ROW IN MIAMI AS RED BULL UPGRADES DELIVER IMMEDIATE RESULTS
Charles Leclerc admitted surprise at Red Bull's pace after Max Verstappen finished P2, just 0.166s behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli.
Charles Leclerc expected Red Bull to bounce back, but he couldn’t help admiring Max Verstappen’s raw speed at the Miami Grand Prix.
Red Bull rolled into Miami with a big upgrade, looking to recover after a rough start to the season. Verstappen, a four-time world champ, landed his Red Bull in second during qualifying. He was only 0.166 seconds behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes, nearly snatching pole. After qualifying, Verstappen said he finally feels like he’s back in control of his car.
Leclerc was impressed by the turnaround. “Honestly, it’s not shocking to see Kimi up there. Mercedes has been the quickest team this year, and Kimi’s been amazing these last few races,” Leclerc said. “But Max and Red Bull are coming back like this? That’s a bit more surprising. The upgrades clearly worked, and you can’t forget how strong that team really is. You never expect them to just sit back and accept a slow start.”
He added, “We figured they’d come back swinging, but to see them right back on the front row after struggling at the start… that’s something else. It’s pretty remarkable. Still, my job’s the same: beat those guys. That’s where my head’s at right now.”
Leclerc had to settle for third on the grid for Sunday’s race. Ferrari looked strong early in qualifying, but their hopes faded by Q3.
He talked about the changing conditions, but didn’t think that’s what hurt Ferrari. “The wind definitely played a part, but track temperature wasn’t all that different, so I don’t think that’s the reason,” he said. “Maybe the track changed, and we didn’t see it coming, or maybe pushing harder today in qualifying just made our car’s weak spots stand out more.”
Leclerc admitted he hadn’t dug into the numbers yet; he’d just gotten out of the car. “We’ll have to check the details to figure out exactly where we lost time.”
