Max Verstappen conquered his second victory in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, surpassing the championship leader, Lando Norris, and keeping his hopes alive in the fight for the title.
Norris’s second position allows him to get closer to his first world championship. Norris arrives at the penultimate Qatar Grand Prix with a 30-point lead over his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, and 42 points over Verstappen, with 58 points at stake in the next two weeks.
Verstappen won with a lead of almost 21 seconds, while Norris suffered technical problems at the end of the race. This was not enough for the Mercedes driver, George Russell, to take third position.
Piastri had to settle for a distant fourth place, extending his streak without finishing ahead of his teammate Norris, which dates back to his victory at the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August.
Norris’s victory means he could secure the championship at next week’s Qatar Grand Prix if his lead is 25 points or more at the end of the race on December 30. However, Verstappen’s triumph in Las Vegas keeps the possibility of an exciting season finale alive.
After the summer break, Verstappen seemed out of the running, but he has resurfaced with an impressive comeback in the final part of the Formula 1 season.
Piastri, who led the championship by 34 points after Zandvoort, could now even finish the season behind Verstappen.
