11/23/25 03:50:00
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11/23 03:46 CST Verstappen closes in on 5th F1 title after Norris, Piastri
disqualified in Las Vegas
Verstappen closes in on 5th F1 title after Norris, Piastri disqualified in Las
Vegas
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) --- A fifth consecutive Formula 1 championship is within Max
Verstappen's reach following the disqualifications of contenders Lando Norris
and Oscar Piastri after Saturday night's Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Verstappen won the event for the second time in three years to close the gap on
Norris to just 42 points with two races remaining. But three hours after the
race concluded, the FIA summoned McLaren to see the stewards for failing
inspection.
The measured thickness on the skid wear on McLarens failed to meet the minimum
thickness requirements. Skid wear is the wear on the protective plank on the
underside of the cars, and Lewis Hamilton was disqualified for the same
infraction earlier this year.
The DQ's made for a wild swing in the standings as both Norris and Piastri were
stripped of all points earned in Las Vegas. Norris went from 30 points up on
Piastri and 42 points up on Verstappen to just 24 points up on Verstappen, who
jumped over Piastri for second in the standings. Piastri dropped to third, 40
points behind his teammate.
Verstappen has won the last two races in Qatar, where F1 races next week, and
four of the last five at Abu Dhabi, where the season will end Dec. 7.
It's an incredible comeback for the Dutchman, who seemed out of contention over
the summer. Even after winning Las Vegas for the second time in three years,
Verstappen wasn't thinking about the championship.
"I mean, it's still a big gap. But, you know, we always try to just maximize
everything that we've got," he said three hours before the McLarens were called
to see the FIA. " This weekend, that was first. The upcoming weekends we'll
again try to win the race. And at the end of Abu Dhabi, we'll see where we end
up."
Verstappen was by far the big winner in Las Vegas, an event he hated before
he'd ever turned a lap. He won for the second time in four races, second time
in three years of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. and the four-time reigning Formula
1 champion continued to claw his way back into title picture with a Saturday
night victory on the streets of Las Vegas.
His displeasure with the event has stemmed from the bright spotlight promoters
place on celebrities and parties instead of the actual competition. But when it
comes time to get in the car, no matter how Verstappen feels about the event,
he seems to excel.
"Some people like more show added. Some people like different kinds of tracks
as a fan also," he said. "I also have my opinions about what I like. Some
weekends I like more than others. I still like to be in Vegas, but I'm
personally less of a showman. I'm not really into that probably. But I get it,
you know, it's part of the calendar. If you're in Vegas, it needs to be like
this."
Las Vegas was the 69th victory of Verstappen's career. It was his eighth
consecutive podium, F1-record eighth win in the United States, and he beat
points leader Norris by more than 20 seconds.
Verstappen started second but took control of the race in the very first turn
when Norris made an aggressive move to cut in front of him at the start but
wound up sliding wide of the turn in his McLaren.
"I let Max have a win," Norris lamented. "Let him go. Let him have a nice race.
I just braked too late. It was my (mess) up."
Verstappen moved to the lead and George Russell darted past Norris into second.
"I made the mistake in Turn 1, that cost me," Norris said. "Sometimes a good
result is second and scoring some points. I've had a good run and I think the
pace was still good. Max just drove a good race and they were quick. I made the
mistake in Turn 1, you know, you've got to be punchy into Turn 1.
"I was just a bit too punchy, you know, and that cost me."
It was the 150th career start for Norris, which tied the McLaren record with
David Coulthard. He will become McLaren's most tenured driver next week in
Qatar with his 151th start.
But after his slip in the first turn, Norris found himself stuck back in third,
and teammate Piastri fared no better as the Australian lost two spots on the
start to drop from fifth to seventh. The two McLaren drivers have swapped the
lead in the driver standings all season.
Norris finished second before the disqualification and Russell was third.
Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes crossed the finish line in fourth but a penalty
dropped him a spot to fifth, which moved Piastri to fourth before the
disqualification.
Piastri has not won since the final day of August at the Dutch Grand Prix and
has just one podium finish in the seven races since. He seemed to accept that
his title chances are slipping away.
"I don't really know what to think, to be honest. The first lap was eventful,
to say the least," Piastri said. "It is what it is. I think I'm going to try my
best, obviously, for the next two races and try to put myself in the best
position possible. There's still a lot of laps left to go, a lot can still
happen, but I need to make sure that I'm in the best position to capitalize if
that happens.
"That's all I can do now, so I'll set my sights on that and see how we go."
The biggest mover of the race was seven-time world champion Hamilton, who
qualified 20th in Ferrari's first last-place qualifying result since 2009. He
actually started 19th and immediately gained six spots. Hamilton steadily
picked his way through the field and finished 10th.
Charles Leclerc finished sixth for Ferrari as he and Hamilton both finished in
the points one race after both failed to finish in Brazil, which drew criticism
from Ferrari executive chairman John Elkann.
Carlos Sainz Jr. started third but finished seventh for Williams, while Isack
Hadjar of Racing Bull was eighth. Nico Hlkenberg of Sauber and Hamilton
rounded out the top 10.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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