Max Verstappen pipped pole-sitter Charles Leclerc at lights out of the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday (Nov. 18) night but failed to enjoy his usual cruise to victory. Instead, after pitting in the first stint of the race, he and George Russell collided and put Verstappen into the pits again during a safety car period.
Once the restart came after the safety car on lap 26, Verstappen began his march to the front, finally assuming the lead on lap 38 after overtaking Leclerc again. From there, he flashed the dominant form that he has displayed all season, claiming his 18th race of 2023 and his 53rd career win. For a driver who had denounced the event, Verstappen appeared to be his typical self and even cheered, “Viva, Las Vegas! Viva, Las Vegas!” soon after crossing the line.
Sergio Perez looked poised to earn the win after the midpoint of the race but could not manage his position in front. He dropped from first to eventually third before moving past Leclerc for second. Yet, on the final lap, at turn 14, Leclerc outbraked Perez to move into second, nabbing only his fourth podium finish of the season.
For Perez, he again suffered a last-lap position-battle loss, with the previous one coming from Fernando Alonso. Still, his third-place finish secured him second in the drivers standing for the year.
George Russell may have crossed the line in fourth, but with a five-second penalty, slid back to eight. Esteban Ocon grabbed fourth, his second top-five of 2023. Lance Stroll followed and earned the fifth spot, with Carlos Sainz, who came from the rear of the field, taking sixth.
Lewis Hamilton battled through an up-and-down race and managed to take seventh on the day.
Fernando Alonso came home in ninth, giving Aston Martin a solid points day when combined with Strollʻs performance, while Oscar Piastri salvaged tenth for McLaren.
Verstappen grabbed the lead from the get-go but, in doing so, suffered a five-second penalty for pushing Leclerc wide on turn one. While such a penalty might not usually garner much attention for Verstappen, his inability to distance himself from Leclerc looked like it might become a problem.
Verstappen supported this notion by offering an insouciant response to his team engineer when told of the penalty, “Yeah, that’s fine, send them my regards.”
With a virtual safety car on lap two, followed by an actual safety car owing to Lando Norris wrecking out, the LVGP…
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