Verstappen back in title hunt after McLarens disqualified in Vegas

The skid blocks for both Norris’ car and that of his team-mate Oscar Piastri were found to be worn beyond the legal level after 50 laps of the Vegas street circuit, which as we’ve seen before inevitably meant they lost their respective second and fourth places. In the wake of Verstappen’s sixth win of the season and the 69^th of his career, the Dutchman has now drawn level with Piastri in the title race, the pair lying 24 points behind Norris.

That means if the 26-year-old Brit can outscore both by more than two points at the Lusail circuit this coming Sunday, the Drivers’ Championship will be his with a race in hand ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi on 7^th December.

Verstappen outstrips Norris

A well-earned pole position in Saturday’s wet qualifying on the treacherously tricky track left the World Championship leader in great shape for the race. But he was all too aware that this was a time for measuring risk versus reward, especially with Verstappen sat alongside him on the front row. The first priority for Norris was to add to his score and finish head of Piastri, who again underperformed to line up on row three.

Still, Norris aggressively swung left from the lights as Verstappen made marginally the better start. But the McLaren then braked too late for Turn 1 on its defensive line, Norris ran wide and that opened the door for Verstappen to calmly drive into the lead. To make matters worse, George Russell’s Mercedes further demoted Norris to third.

Then again, Piastri started badly, too, and dropped two places after a close call with Liam Lawson’s Racing Bull.

Through the early stages, and two Virtual Safety Car interruptions, Verstappen eased away up front. Russell stopped early to switch from the medium Pirellis the top ten had all started on to take on the white-walled hards, coming in on lap 18. Norris waited five more laps before he pitted and rejoined behind his old friend and countryman.

But after taking his time to work some temperature into his tyres in the cool night air, Norris drew past Russell on lap 34. The message from his pitwall was to now go after Verstappen for the win, rather than settle for second. He didn’t need to be told to avoid undue risk.

Verstappen’s comfortable win

At this stage, Norris was just under five seconds off Verstappen. But instead of shrinking, the gap between the pair gradually grew. It was obvious that Norris had no answer to Verstappen’s pace and the race was won, even before the McLaren was forced into lift-and-coast mode in the closing laps to save fuel.

At the flag, Verstappen was more than 20 seconds up the road, with Russell completing the podium after learning to live with a steering problem he’d first complained about on the formation lap. This was a happy podium, with Verstappen understandably delighted with his night’s work, and Norris and Russell satisfied to stand beside him on what was a 150^th Grand Prix start for both Brits.

But then came news of McLaren’s worn skid blocks and the wait for what everyone knew would follow. The team later reported that unexpected porpoising on the fast circuit had led to the excessive wear. So, Norris and Piastri left Vegas with that sinking feeling familiar to any gambler who has quit the tables in Sin City empty of pocket.

Antonelli comes up trumps

In contrast, Vegas proved particularly kind to Kimi Antonelli, who with the McLaren disqualifications found himself bumped up to a second consecutive podium after his excellent runner-up finish in Brazil.

The rookie was the only one to gamble on the soft tyre with little to lose from his lowly 17^th on the grid. He got rid of the red-walled rubber almost straight away, coming in during the VSC triggered by debris left from Gabriel Bortoleto’s first-corner assault on Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin. That meant Antonelli faced a mammoth 48-lap stint on the hard tyres — which he managed beautifully, holding off both Piastri and Charles Leclerc, who put in a fine race-long charge in his Ferrari.

A five-second penalty for allegedly jumping the start — not obvious from his in-car camera footage — appeared to undo some of Antonelli’s good work. That meant initially he dropped from fourth on the road to fifth behind Piastri, although it was impressive how he’d built enough of a margin not to fall behind Leclerc, too.

Then came his double stroke of gambler’s luck and an inherited podium, to complete a Mercedes two-three. That strengthens the team’s grip on second in the Constructors’ standings, leaving them 40 points clear of Red Bull with two to play.

Darkness descends on Hamilton

Behind Leclerc in fourth, the rest also bumped up two places following McLaren’s woe. Carlos Sainz was classified fifth for Williams, although having qualified an excellent third, seventh on the road had been something of a comedown. Isack Hadjar scored well once again for Racing Bulls in sixth, and Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg was the best of a quintet who chose the alternative strategy of starting and running long on the hard tyre. All race long he kept Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari at arm’s length without bother.

Hamilton cut a sorry figure in Vegas. He’d qualified plum last, seemingly with no answer or any hope regarding his lack of pace. In the Grand Prix he was a big gainer from the mess caused by Bortoleto’s attack on Stroll, emerging in 13^th and then moving up to 12^th. He even survived a scare when Alex Albon’s Williams hit him, earning the Thai a penalty.

In the circumstances, tenth on the road and then a net eighth wasn’t a bad night’s work. But he seemed bereft in post-race TV interviews and even appeared to suggest he’s not looking forward to 2026. Just a high-achieving perfectionist’s frustration in the immediate aftermath of a tough weekend — or is this a sign of something more fundamentally worrying? Hamilton is beginning to look like a beaten man.

Images courtesy of Getty Images.