{"id":302178,"date":"2025-11-23T18:08:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T18:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/302178\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T18:08:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T18:08:11","slug":"max-verstappen-wins-formula-1-race-in-las-vegas-as-lando-norris-is-disqualified","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/302178\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Verstappen wins Formula 1 race in Las Vegas, as Lando Norris is disqualified"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAS VEGAS \u2014 Max Verstappen won the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday night after capturing the lead from championship leader Lando Norris at the start and never looking back.<\/p>\n

The Formula 1 cars blasted down the Las Vegas Strip for 50 laps at breathtaking speeds of over 215 miles per hour, delivering thrilling wheel-to-wheel racing under the bright lights for the third consecutive year.<\/p>\n

But in a stunning twist, both Norris and fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri were later disqualified in the middle of the night, hours after the race finish and podium celebrations, with officials finding illegal plank wear on their cars.<\/p>\n

Norris crossed the line in second place, ahead of title rival Piastri, who finished in fourth. Their disqualification carries huge implications for the world championship fight with just two more Grand Prix races and one \u201csprint\u201d left in the season.<\/p>\n

It puts Norris just 24 points ahead of both Piastri and four-time world champion Verstappen, who are tied on points in second place. Norris now has 390 points, while Piastri and Verstappen have 366.<\/p>\n

\u201cA frustrating end to today,\u201d Norris said in a statement. \u201cWe had to do some managing towards the end of the race and now we know it was due to some issues on our car, which have unfortunately resulted in us being disqualified.\u201d<\/p>\n

Piastri called it \u201cdisappointing\u201d and \u201cunfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n

F1 rules require the wooden skid blocks under the cars to be at least 9 mm thick after a race in order to be deemed legal, a way to control ride height and contact with the ground. The penalty for failing to meet that standard is disqualification. It\u2019s rare, but not unheard of.<\/p>\n

\"Image:Lando Norris of McLaren waves after crossing the line in second during the Las Vegas Formula 1 Grand Prix on Saturday.Patrick T. Fallon \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the breach was unintentional, and apologized to Norris and Piastri \u201cfor the loss of points today, at a critical time in their Championship campaigns.\u201d He also apologized to McLaren partners and fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile this outcome is extremely disappointing, we remain fully focused on the last two races of the season,\u201d Stella said.<\/p>\n

There are just two Grand Prix left in a 2025 season full of twists and turns \u2014 next weekend in Qatar and the weekend after in Abu Dhabi. The Qatar race features a shortened \u201csprint\u201d race, too, so there are a maximum of 58 points still up for grabs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe upcoming weekends, we\u2019ll again try to win the race, and at the end of Abu Dhabi we\u2019ll see where we end up,\u201d Verstappen said of the title fight in a postrace interview ahead of the McLarens\u2019 disqualification.<\/p>\n

Norris started first but lost two positions in the opening corners after making an aggressive move to defend his lead, but ran wide on the first turn and got overtaken by Verstappen and George Russell. He eventually overtook Russell of Mercedes but couldn\u2019t get close to Verstappen, and he was forced to slow his pace toward the end due to a then-unknown issue with the car.<\/p>\n

Russell was promoted from third to second. Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli finished fifth, but was moved up to third.<\/p>\n

\u201cI messed it up and made my life tougher into turn one,\u201d Norris said. \u201cBut even after that, we just weren\u2019t quick enough. … I was pushing flat out and Max was still pulling away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Piastri fell a further six points behind Norris before the disqualification, but now they remain 24 points apart.<\/p>\n

An economic boost for Las Vegas<\/p>\n

Local leaders hope the race weekend will provide a much-needed economic boost to Las Vegas, which has struggled this year due to high costs and declining tourism,<\/a> among other issues. Last year\u2019s Las Vegas Grand Prix delivered an economic impact of $934 million<\/a>, according to one estimate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very important event. And I fully support all of our special events. We\u2019re not just the entertainment capital, we\u2019re the entertainment<\/a> and sports capital<\/a>,\u201d U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., who represents parts of the city, told NBC News ahead of the race. \u201cSo having a marquee event like this on the Las Vegas Strip is great, and it does a lot for our economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

F1 is looking to build on its momentum with American fans, having secured the races in Miami and Las Vegas \u2014 in addition to the long-standing Grand Prix in Austin \u2014 on the calendar for the long haul. It signed a five-year deal with Apple<\/a>, which will take over the U.S. broadcast rights from ESPN starting next year.<\/p>\n

\"Image:Jay-Z and Beyonc\u00e9 arrive in the Paddock prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas on Saturday in Las Vegas.Alex Bierens de Haan \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Celebrity sightings included musicians Beyonc\u00e9 and Jay-Z, actors Ben Affleck, Michael Douglas and Naomi Campbell, NBA All-Stars Magic Johnson and Jimmy Butler, and tennis player Taylor Fritz. Actor Catherine Zeta-Jones waved the checkered flag.<\/p>\n

The top three finishers were driven to the podium, which is located on the Strip at the Bellagio Fountain Club, in a pink LEGO-built Cadillac car driven by Terry Crews.<\/p>\n

Before the race, Ferrari superstar Lewis Hamilton took Beyonc\u00e9 on a hot lap around the circuit, a team spokesperson confirmed, as she was decked out in a Louis Vuitton custom racing suit. The two stars were spotted watching the race from the Ferrari garage.<\/p>\n

Also in attendance Saturday were Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel, who were given a tour of the paddock by F1 officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always kind of been a NASCAR fan and been learning a lot about F1 the last couple of years. And we\u2019re excited to see everybody race,\u201d Noem said, adding that she was getting a tour of the McLaren garage. Patel called Formula 1 \u201cone of the greatest sports,\u201d saying he\u2019s a McLaren fan.<\/p>\n

Rain brings chaos in qualifying<\/p>\n

The Friday qualifying session was thrown into chaos due to rain, which extracted every ounce of skill from the 20 drivers just to stay out of the barriers. The track, already known to have low grip even in dry conditions, was slippery and treacherous for most of the session.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re just trying to keep it on the track. Not crash. Not take yourself out,\u201d Norris said after taking pole position. \u201cOne day, I just hope \u2014 apart from having a two-seater F1 car \u2014 people can get that sensation of just how nerve-wracking and scary it can be at times. How unpredictable.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the Las Vegas paddock was abuzz with internal drama among several teams during the weekend.<\/p>\n

Piastri was asked about recently reposting an Instagram post that quoted F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone claiming McLaren \u201cprefers\u201d Norris because of his \u201chigh star quality\u201d and \u201cmarketing appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Image:Oscar Piastri of McLaren looks on during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas on Friday.Chris Graythen \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Asked about the repost, which was highlighted online by F1 content creators, Piastri told reporters it was an error.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d he said Friday after deleting it from his feed. \u201cI woke up this morning and saw it. So I don\u2019t know, maybe I accidentally did it. Obviously, it was not intentional. But yeah, I didn\u2019t know what had happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instagram has one-click reposts \u2014 unlike X, which requires users to click twice to confirm \u2014 making it easy to erroneously repost something while scrolling. Still, it added to a drama in which the Australian driver\u2019s fans have theorized that the British team favors his British teammate, a claim that McLaren firmly denies.<\/p>\n

Ferrari\u2019s two drivers downplayed recent comments by Ferrari chairperson John Elkann, who said they should \u201ctalk less and focus on driving\u201d \u2014 remarks slammed by critics as a gratuitous dig against Charles Leclerc and Hamilton after Ferrari\u2019s decision to build a new car for 2025 (rather than upgrade last year\u2019s version) backfired and led to a winless season so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always willing to do less media,\u201d Hamilton quipped.<\/p>\n

\"Image:Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari arriving to the paddock during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas on Friday.Peter Fox \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

The seven-time world champion told reporters it\u2019s \u201cnot really\u201d possible to focus any more on driving than he already does. \u201cI wake up thinking about it. And I go to sleep thinking about it. And I think about it while I\u2019m sleeping,\u201d Hamilton said.<\/p>\n

Leclerc said the comment was a product of Elkann\u2019s ambition to maximize the team\u2019s potential. \u201cHe loves Ferrari. I love Ferrari. We all love Ferrari,\u201d Leclerc said. \u201cWhen he called me, he told me what were the intentions of these words, and that was very clear. It was a positive message, trying to be positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ferrari currently sits fourth in a close battle for second in the team championship, behind Mercedes and Red Bull. While the driver\u2019s title carries more glory, the constructors\u2019 championship is the one that awards cash prizes. Ferrari finished runner-up to McLaren last year in a close battle.<\/p>\n

While Hamilton said he takes no positives regarding his comeback from last place to a points finish, he enjoys racing in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love coming to Vegas,\u201d he told reporters after the race. \u201cI think it\u2019s a really great city. Always get a great welcome here. This is the biggest crowd I think we\u2019ve seen, even though it\u2019s quite cold.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the activities of the weekend have evolved over the three years as F1 seeks a better balance between sport and show.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s certainly better than it was a few years ago. I think that was a bit too much for everyone,\u201d Norris said. \u201cMay as well be in Cirque du Soleil with what we were doing back then.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS \u2014 Max Verstappen won the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday night after capturing the lead…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302179,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-302178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}