LAS VEGAS -- A year after clinching his fourth consecutive World Drivers' Championship on the Strip, Red Bull's Max Verstappen maintained the slightest hope for a fifth with a stellar showing at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Verstappen took advantage of a first-lap mishap by McLaren's Lando Norris to claim the checkered flag at the street circuit for the second time in the race's third modern iteration.
Norris, the polesitter and championship frontrunner, made what could only be called a recklessly aggressive move in an attempt to block Verstappen from overtaking him on the inside. As a result, Norris briefly went off the track and rejoined in third place after Verstappen gained the lead and Mercedes' George Russell moved into second.
Norris regained second place from Russell on an uncontested overtake on Lap 34 and attempted to make a late push to surpass Verstappen for the win. But it proved to be a futile attempt, and Verstappen only lengthened the gap as Norris hung onto second place despite a late fuel shortage.
Although his two-race win streak was snapped, Norris gained six more points on Oscar Piastri, taking a 30-point lead over his teammate atop the World Drivers' Championship standings entering next week's Qatar Grand Prix.
With two races remaining, Norris is in a position to clinch his maiden title in Qatar next week. Piastri must outscore Norris by five points over the Qatar weekend to avoid elimination from contention while Verstappen must outpace Norris by 17. Still, the 26-year-old won't allow himself to relish the position he's in on account of his shortcomings on Saturday.
"I'm pretty disappointed," Norris said. "I still take P2 as a good result, I'm pretty happy because of it. But I'm not happy because it's P2, and we gave ourselves a good opportunity yesterday to try and win the race. Of course, I messed it up and made my life tougher into turn one, but even after that we just weren't quick enough."
Saturday's win marks Verstappen's eighth consecutive podium finish and his fourth win in the last seven Grand Prixs. The four-time defending champion remains an outside threat to win a fifth straight title. He now trails Piastri by just 12 points for second place and Norris by 42 points for the lead with two weekends remaining on the calendar.
Verstappen made it clear entering Saturday's race that he wasn't thinking about his outside shot at the title and reaffirmed that belief after his victory. Rather, he sees this late-season push as the best way to corral momentum for a more consistent 2026.
"From the middle of 2024 to the middle of 2025, we were probably off the podium more than on," Verstappen said. "Now, at least we are always fighting for second or third place. For us, I think that's a very good step forward. That should have been the case from the start, but unfortunately we didn't get it right in the beginning."
Russell rounded out the podium with a third-place finish, posting another successful weekend in Las Vegas after winning the Grand Prix in 2024. Russell's Mercedes teammate and rookie Kimi Antonelli also notched an impressive performance and crossed the line in fourth place after starting 17th on the grid. However, he was assessed a five-second penalty for moving before the lights went out at the start of the race and officially finished fifth.
Turn 1 brought more drama on the first lap, as Piastri narrowly dodged what would have been a championship-deciding incident. VCARB's Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri and was forced to retire from the race due to front wing damage, but Piastri avoided severe damage himself and was able to continue his growingly unlikely title bid.
--Will Despart, Field Level Media
