McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson bang wheels at the start of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. FOX Sports
Max Verstappen has cruised to a dominant victory in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, while Oscar Piastri’s race was ultimately compromised by a collision on the opening lap.
The Red Bull driver was in complete control as he swept across the chequered flag, securing victory ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ George Russell.
Piastri finished the race back from the pack in fifth, but he subsequently inherited fourth place from Kimi Antonelli, who failed to serve his in-race five-second penalty for a false start.
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With the result, Verstappen remains mathematically in the title hunt, while Norris has one hand firmly on the championship trophy.
Oscar Piastri on track during the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Zak Mauger via LAT Images
“Oscar is going to be devastated after this,” Jenson Button said on Sky Sports.
“This is a race he really needed to take the challenge to Lando, and he’s not had the opportunity to do that.”
Both McLaren drivers endured a calamitous start to the grand prix.
In a dramatic opening, polesitter Norris aggressively defended against Verstappen on the run to turn one.
Norris, however, went too deep, running wide and opening the door for Verstappen and Russell to get by.
After a disappointing qualifying saw him start fifth, Piastri’s race got instantly worse.
He was hampered by mid-pack commotion on the opening lap, which caused him to fall two places to seventh. Piastri dropped down the order after Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson made contact with him, resulting in wheel-to-wheel contact between the two drivers.
Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri banged wheels in turn one of Las Vegas. Getty
The incident caused damage to Lawson’s front wing, prompting race control to deploy the virtual safety car (VSC).
Additionally, further debris was scattered when Gabriel Bortoleto collided heavily with Lance Stroll, forcing both cars into immediate retirement.
“For Piastri, it’s damage control once again,” David Croft said in commentary for Sky Sports.
“Piastri’s championship since that win in Zandvoort [at the Dutch Grand Prix] has just unravelled for one reason or another. He just can’t find the pace that he was showing earlier in the season.”
As the race progressed, both McLarens found pace.
However, Piastri’s charge stalled when he locked up while attempting a move on Isack Hadjar, a mistake that allowed Charles Leclerc to sweep past him at the end of the Strip.
The race saw a second VSC deployment following a collision where Alex Albon rear-ended Lewis Hamilton, resulting in front wing damage for Albon.
But Piastri capitalised as the VSC ended, responding sharply to clear Hadjar.
Piastri pitted on lap 21 of 50, successfully executing an early stop to undercut Carlos Sainz on fresh, warm tyres.
He then successfully jumped Leclerc when the Ferrari finally pitted.