It was a victory of character the one that Max Verstappen achieved in Las Vegas. In dry conditions Red Bull's Dutchman was absolutely unrivalled. Starting from the second grid row slot, he moved into the lead of the race at the first corner and from there onwards he did not budge anymore, going on to accumulate a comfortable lead of 20 seconds that allowed him not to take risks until the chequered flag. For Lando Norris, who instead started from pole, there was nothing to do but bow down to the superiority of his rival who, in doing so, shaved a few more points off his lead in the overall standings. George Russell, too, was able to take advantage of the opportunities at the get-go, finishing third despite having complained of steering problems in the first stint.
Fourth place went to Oscar Piastri in a McLaren favored by a 5" penalty imposed on Kimi Antonelli for a false start, the Italian fifth at the finish. Despite an uninspiring sixth place Charles Leclerc was the protagonist of several decent overtakes. A meager consolation, this, for the Ferrari driver in vinew of a single-seater that certainly does not stand out for its competitiveness. Carlos Sainz dreamed of giving Williams another podium, but in the end he had to settle for seventh ahead of a solid Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) and Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber).
One driver who finally managed to notch up at least one point was Lewis Hamilton. Having avoided the last starting position on the grid thanks to Red Bull's decision to replace the power unit on Yuki Tsunoda's car, within a few corners the Ferrari man had climbed back up to 13th place and fortunately for him emerged unscathed from the accident caused by Alex Albon, who was later forced to retire.
"It went very well. Normally this is a difficult race for us, but today we were able to pull out the pace. Postponing the stop helped. The car worked and was closer to my taste," was the comment of Mad Max, who had actually already triumphed in Nevada in 2023.
"I let Verstappen win. No, it was my mistake, I messed up," were the words of a disappointed Norris.
"I pushed hard to catch up to Max and ruined the tyres. I wasn't even sure I could finish the GP, so I'm pleased with the podium ," Russell declared.
For full details here is the link to Motorsport.com.
