Verstappen wins Las Vegas GP in front of celebs including David Beckham and Brad Pitt while Hamilton only takes seventh
VIVA Max Vegas!
It was the only certainty in the city where luck plays its part as Max Verstappen won the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Dressed in an all-white Elvis Presley style race suite, the world champion belted out a rendition of the singer’s hit about this gambling mecca.
It was his 18th win of the season but this time he was made to fight for it after picking up a five-second penalty on the first lap.
He had a running battle with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who started on pole and eventually came home in second place after pipping Sergio Perez on the final lap.
The Mexican choked on the final lap for the second successive race as he was unable to hold on.
Verstappen, who had blasted this race as “99 percent entertainment” said: “It was a tough one.
“I tried to go for it at the start. I just ran out of grip, so ended up a bit wide.
“The stewards gave me a penalty for that and it put us on the backfoot.
“I had to pass quite a few cars and there was the Safety Car, so at that point there was a lot going on… Definitely a lot of fun.”
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Leclerc added: “What a race! I enjoyed it so much. I’m of course disappointed to only finish second, but that’s the best we could do.
“At the start Max on the inside lost a little bit of the grip and brought me onto the outside [of the track] but we had good pace, we passed him back, and we were really strong overall. So that was a really good race.
“The weekend didn’t start the way it had to start but I am so happy it ended that way.
“It’s such an incredible sport and I today is no better race than for the first race in Vegas. The energy around the city is incredible and I at least really enjoyed today.”
Verstappen’s win means Red Bull have set a new record for the most wins in a season by a team – surpassing Mercedes’ 19 victories from 2016.
The Dutchman has now equalled Sebastian Vettel on 53 career wins, the joint-third most on the all-time winners’ list.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell had eventful races as Mercedes’ hopes of a return to form were ended.
Boss Toto Wolff is under more pressure to turn the team around after a miserable two years.
Hamilton, who had come into this weekend saying the team had learned their lessons from the Brazilian GP, was only good enough for seventh after picking up a puncture in a tangle with Oscar Piastri.
And Russell came home in eighth place but only after serving a five second penalty for banging into Verstappen.
Lando Norris crashed out on the third lap after inexplicably losing control of his McLaren at high speed.
Norris climbed from is McLaren but was taken to the medical centre for checks before being sent to the local hospital.
