Lando Norris lost the lead of Saturday\u2019s Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix on an aggressive move to block Max Verstappen driving into Turn 1 on the first lap of the race.<\/p>\n
Norris never recovered and came to the checkered flag second, nearly 20 seconds behind Verstappen, who dominated and led all 50 laps to win the F1 race on the Strip.<\/p>\n
It turns out it wouldn\u2019t have mattered if Norris had pulled off the risky move.<\/p>\n
Norris\u2019 McLaren car was disqualified by the FIA, the sport\u2019s governing body, because the thickness of the rearmost skid of his car was less than the required thickness. Oscar Piastri, McLaren\u2019s other driver who finished fourth, also had his car disqualified for the same issue.<\/p>\n
A report from the FIA said \u201cthe thickness of the plank assembly was below the permitted minimum thickness\u201d for Norris, who was credited with a 19th-place finish, and Piastri, who finished 20th.<\/p>\n
The FIA said in a statement on X at 11:36 p.m., nearly two hours after the race finished, that Norris\u2019 and Piastri\u2019s cars were being reported to race stewards for further inspection for a potential violation. Then, more than two hours later at 1:45 a.m., the FIA confirmed its findings and announced both McLaren cars were disqualified.<\/p>\n
Title race tightens<\/p>\n
The McLaren disqualifications and Verstappen\u2019s win drastically changed the drivers championship standings. Norris still leads with 390 points, but Verstappen is now tied with Piastri for second with 366 with two races remaining.<\/p>\n
Verstappen is still alive to win a fifth straight drivers title after his win. George Russell, who originally finished third, moved to second, and his Mercedes teammate, Kimi Antonelli, moved to third.<\/p>\n
There is a maximum of 60 points left in the final two races \u2014 25 points for a race win, eight points for the winner of the Sprint race in Qatar on Saturday and a bonus point for running the fastest lap of the race.<\/p>\n
Verstappen and Norris had already spoken to the media in a postrace news conference before the McLaren penalties were handed down.<\/p>\n
Before the penalties, Verstappen was third, 42 points behind Norris. Verstappen was already reserved in the fact that the championship was out of reach. But now, on a streak of eight straight podiums, the 28-year-old Dutch driver can still make a run at the title.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seemed like we had a bit more under control, and I could push a little bit more,\u201d Verstappen said of his race. \u201cThat unlocked a bit more pace, and I could stay out longer (on the tires) and split the race in half (with pit stops). That helped a lot, and the car was working pretty well much more to my liking.\u201d<\/p>\n
It’s a DRAMATIC first corner in Las Vegas \ud83d\ude31<\/p>\n
Here’s how the race start unfolded! \ud83d\udc40\u2b07\ufe0f#F1<\/a> #LasVegasGP<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/MbO09PnqwI<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) November 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018We learned a lot\u2019<\/p>\n It was the 69th career victory for Verstappen, who won the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023, and his 125th podium finish. He has finished on the podium in the past eight races and has six wins and 13 podiums in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very proud of everyone,\u201d Verstappen said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a really up and down season, and tough times, but also really beautiful moments, and we learned a lot throughout the whole season. That\u2019s also valuable for the upcoming years.\u201d<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t the best start to 2025 for Verstappen, who won twice and had five podiums in the first 14 races. He then hit his streak at the end of the summer, beginning at his home track in the Dutch Grand Prix on Aug. 31 with a second-place finish.<\/p>\n Red Bull made a change midseason, releasing longtime team principal Christian Horner \u2014 who led Red Bull to six constructors championships and eight drivers titles \u2014 on July 9 and replacing him with Laurent Mekies.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s something we can cling on to and just try to improve even more to come back stronger for next year to put up a fight from the start of the year in the championship,\u201d Verstappen said. \u201cWe\u2019re enjoying it now, and then we\u2019ll see next week what we could do again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018There were some issues\u2019<\/p>\n Before the penalties, Norris, the pole <\/a>winner<\/a>, made an aggressive block on Verstappen on the standing start to the race, going into Turn 1. Norris missed the corner, went wide and lost the lead to Verstappen.<\/p>\n Norris, after his first turn incident, fell to third behind Russell. Norris passed Russell on Lap 34, driving down Las Vegas Boulevard heading into Turn 14. Norris was less than 5 seconds behind Verstappen with under 15 laps to go, but his car couldn\u2019t keep up with Verstappen\u2019s pace.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were some issues with the car the team was telling me on the radio, so just had to back off,\u201d Norris said of why he slowed down about three hours before his car was disqualified.<\/p>\n Verstappen ran the fastest lap of the race (1 minute, 33.365 seconds) on the final lap.<\/p>\n Russell\u2019s strong run, paired with teammate Antonelli\u2019s finish in fifth after starting 17th, helped Mercedes (431 points) hold a 40-point advantage over Red Bull for second place in the constructors championship. McLaren (756 points) clinched the constructors championship Oct. 5.<\/p>\n Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com<\/a>. Follow @AlexWright1028<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n \t\t\t