Las Vegas - Race

With the season nearing its end, every race could be the one to decide who gets the World Drivers' Championship. That's why tensions were higher than ever as 19 drivers, save for Yuki Tsunoda, who started the race from the pitlane, lined up on the grid. The lights went out under the night sky in Las Vegas, and the 22nd race of the season began. 

Lando Norris, the polesitter, started the Grand Prix with a risky defensive move that saw him go wide and lose a position first to Max Verstappen, and then to George Russell. The start was equally as disappointing for his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, who also lost two places after a wheel-to-wheel contact with the Racing Bull of Liam Lawson. Towards the back of the field, Gabriel Brotoleto and Lance Stroll were involved in an incident that led to both of them retiring from the race, and allowed a few other drivers, such a Lewis Hamilton, to significantly improve their position. A virtual safety car was called in as the debris from the two accidents was cleaned up by the marshals. 

When racing was resumed, Russell set his sights on Verstappen in front; meanwhile, behind them, Charles Leclerc overtook Oscar Piastri for P6. This wasn't enough for the Monegasque. Only a few laps later, he also moved past Isack Hadjar. Just as he was making his way up the field, his teammate made contact with Alex Albon, which forced the Williams driver to make an early stop. Later on, it also earned him a 5-second penalty. He wasn't the only driver to receive one: on lap 15, Kimi Antonelli was given a punishment of his own for jumping the start. For the Thai driver, the penalty didn't end up mattering, as he retired in the second half of the Grand Prix.

A second VSC was called in on lap 16 to clean up the debris caused by the Hamilton-Albon incident. None of the top drivers decided to take advantage of the shortened stop, but Russell changed his tires a lap later, being the first out of the podium contenders to do so. Piastri followed his lead on lap 21, with Norris doing the same thing a lap later. The former ended up behind Kimi Antonelli, while the latter fell to P4. Leclerc and Verstappen pitted soon after, with the Dutchman managing to keep the lead. 

On lap 34, Norris made his move on Russell and moved into the second position he'd been eyeing for the better part of the race. He then set his sights on the Red Bull of the race leader. The Brit he had overtaken began falling away, clearly experiencing a mechanical issue, which would have meant a loss of position, were it not for his young teammate. Having pitted on lap two and with a penalty to his name, Antonelli did everything in his power to keep both Piastri and Leclerc at bay. He spent the last laps covering the back of Russell.

For a while, it looked like the last laps might see a fight between Verstappen and Norris, but an undisclosed issue made the McLaren fall away from the man who would go on to win for the 69th time in his career. The result kept the championship fight alive, with Norris, Piastri, and Verstappen still within reach of taking the trophy home.

Order of the grid:

1. Max Verstappen

2. Lando Norris

3. George Russell

4. Oscar Piastri

5. Kimi Antonelli

6. Charles Leclerc

7. Carlos Sainz

8. Isack Hadjar

9. Nico Hulkenberg

10. Lewis Hamilton

11. Esteban Ocon

12. Oliver Bearman

13. Fernando Alonso

14. Yuki Tsunoda

15. Pierre Gasly

16. Liam Lawson

17. Franco Colapinto

DNF: Alex Albon, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Lance Stroll