After the crazy qualifications yesterday, it's theshow time in Las Vegas: the 22nd seasonal race is underway Formula 1, which saw Verstappen win, ahead of Norris and Russell. After the chaos at Turn 1, the race unfolded smoothly, with the Dutchman dominating, with Norris limiting the damage. Antonelli put in an excellent comeback, redeeming himself after yesterday's Q1 exit by finishing fifth, despite a penalty for a false start. The Ferraris finished sixth with Leclerc and tenth with Hamilton.
The lights go out in Las Vegas: the race begins
It's chaos in Turn 1! Several drivers, from Norris to Lawson to Bortoleto, made the wrong braking point, and as a result, there were numerous collisions between the cars. Lawson hit Piastri, Norris on the other hand is very tough he closed the door on Verstappen by moving aggressively to the left but then ended up wide, thus losing position to both the Dutchman and Russell.
At the back, Bortoleto strikes out, running wide and hitting several riders. Stroll gets the worst of it and is forced to retire, as is the Brazilian. Lawson also faces disaster, having to stop after a strong qualifying session due to injuries resulting from the contact at the start of the race. The New Zealander manages to restart, but his race is now compromised. The one who takes the most advantage of this chaos is Lewis Hamilton, who after starting in last place was twelfth by the end of the first lap. In Las Vegas, the race came to a head with Verstappen chased by Russell.
The race continued after a brief Virtual Safety Car, with Leclerc climbing to fifth place, passing Bearman, Piastri, and Hadjar. Meanwhile, Verstappen increased his pace after Russell had gotten dangerously close. On lap 15, Albon hits Hamilton making a wrong braking move, fortunately without consequences for the Briton. In Las Vegas, Albon was forced to stop after losing pieces of his wing, which led to his second VSC of the race.
It's time for pit stops around lap 20
On lap 18, the whirlwind of pit stops began. Russell came in and fitted the hard tires to counter Norris, who was getting dangerously close. Piastri also stopped a few laps later, with Norris following him the next lap and coming out behind Russell. Sainz followed, stopping, but Piastri passed him. Only Leclerc and Verstappen were missing, and they did indeed stop shortly after. The Dutchman remains ahead Russell by a hair, while Leclerc manages to stay ahead of Sainz. The mid-race situation sees the trio of Verstappen, Russell, and Norris in front, followed by Hulkenberg, Hamilton, Antonelli, and Ocon, who will likely have to stop. Then Piastri, Leclerc, and Sainz round out the top 10, with Hadjar lurking.
On lap 30, Hamilton and Hulkenberg stopped, the last two drivers on the track with the starting tyres, while Antonelli, after having stopped on lap three, tried to make it to the end. With about fifteen laps to go, Norris outperforms a compliant Russell, who settles for the podium. Meanwhile, Piastri and Leclerc close in on Antonelli, but the Australian struggles to overtake the young Italian talent, who is managing his tires perfectly. The latter, however, will have to serve 5 second penalty at the end of the race due to a false start identified by the race stewards.
The race concludes: Verstappen's Masterclass
Final in great difficulty for Lando Norris, who experiences fuel problems and has to slow down significantly. In Las Vegas the race ends with the Max Verstappen's victory, after leading the race from Turn 1 to the finish. Norris limits the damage in view of the world championship, finishing in an excellent second place and saving the position by less than 3 seconds. Russell completes the podium Piastri took fourth place after the Italian's penalty, which resulted in him finishing fifth. Leclerc, Sainz, Hadjar, Hulkenberg, and Hamilton completed the top 10.
