Verstappen vs Norris: Las Vegas GP Battle

The drivers were more on a two-stop strategy but the wear and tear is ultimately low and everyone is moving towards a one-stop strategy.

The Monegasque put on the hard tires at the end of lap 24. He came out 9th after an average stop at Ferrari.

The Italian continues his comeback. He has just overtaken Ocon and finds himself 6th.

With his fresh tires, Sainz is attacked by Piastri who takes 9th place.

With his new tires, Russell drops Hadjar and takes 6th place. The Frenchman rushes to the pits at the end of the 20th lap and puts on the hard tires. He comes out 11th.

Without making any noise, Sainz is still 3rd with his Williams and is a little less than two seconds ahead of Leclerc.

Norris takes tenth after tenth and is three seconds behind Max Verstappen, still leader.

The race restarted quickly and Piastri took the opportunity to overtake Hadjar and take 6th place.

On lap 16, the VSC is deployed to allow the marshals to remove debris.

The Italian receives a penalty for moving on the starting grid. He was under investigation.

Albon attacks Hamilton and the two drivers touch in the second sector. Front wing damaged for the Williams which immediately enters the center.

At turn 1 of lap 14, Leclerc threw himself and passed Hadjar to gain fifth place. The Ferrari flies.

The Briton has just set the fastest lap in the race and has therefore increased his pace. He came back two seconds behind Russell.

Wheel lock for the McLaren driver who is then swallowed by Leclerc. He falls to 7th place.

Fifth, the Frenchman struggled to keep up with Sainz’s pace and found himself under pressure from Piastri and Leclerc.

The Dutchman claws tenth by tenth in front and increases his lead to 1.8 seconds over Russell.

The championship leader is 3rd and is not moving up. He is three seconds behind Russell and 2.6 seconds ahead of Sainz.

1. Verstappen
2. Russell +1.2s
3. Norris +3.7s
4. Sainz +5.2s
5. Hadjar +5.9s

The Australian lost a place at the start as he was hit by Lawson. Difficult to say if he has any damage at this point in the race but he is two seconds behind Hadjar.

Aspiration and DRS, Russell puts pressure on Verstappen and gets closer to six tenths.

The Brazilian is mainly responsible for the incidents at the first corner. He gives up but he could be sanctioned.

Starting 20th, the Briton took advantage of the incidents at the start and found himself 12th.

End of the virtual safety car, Max Verstappen returns to the race in the lead with more than a second ahead of Russell.

Virtual safety car in Vegas since there is debris on the track including Lawson’s front wing which gave way after contact for Piastri.

While Tsunoda made his first stop, Lance Stroll retired before the end of the first lap.

Superb start from Isack Hadjar who gained three places and finds himself 5th.

The drivers set off for the formation lap in the Las Vegas night. The entire top 10 is in mediums. Five drivers are on hard tires like Hamilton while Antonelli tries the softs.

On the wet Vegas track, the Blues were at ease in qualifying. Esteban Ocon was taken out in Q2 with the 13th time but the two other French people reached Q3 with the 10th time of Pierre Gasly at the wheel of his Alpine and the eighth of Isack Hadjar in his Racing Bulls.

With three Grand Prix remaining, the title race is becoming clearer. After his dominating weekends in Mexico and Brazil, Lando Norris leads the championship with 390 points. He is 24 points ahead of Oscar Piastri and 49 over Max Verstappen. The reigning four-time world champion is still in the race as there are 83 points left to be awarded with the three races and a sprint in Qatar next weekend.