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11/23 00:02 CST Max Verstappen wins Las Vegas Grand Prix, narrows F1 points gap
Max Verstappen wins Las Vegas Grand Prix, narrows F1 points gap
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) --- Max Verstappen won for the second time in four races and the
four-time reigning Formula 1 champion continued to claw his way back into title
picture with a Saturday night victory at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
It is the second time in three years the Dutchman has won on the streets of Las
Vegas that utilizes a part of the famed Strip. He won the inaugural race in
2023 and clinched his fourth consecutive title here last year.
Now he has another win at an event he despised ahead of its debut because of
the bright spotlight promoters placed on celebrities and parties instead of the
actual competition. But when it comes time to get in the car, no matter how
Verstappen feels about the event, he seems to excel.
"Simply lovely," Verstappen said on his Red Bull team radio.
He then rushed into the arms of his waiting Red Bull crew as the skyline was
illuminated by a spectacular New Year's Eve-style fireworks display.
Verstappen then took a victory lap in a pink Cadillac made of Legos driven by
actor Terry Crews, who is an ambassador for the Cadillac F1 team that will
debut next year.
It was the 69th victory of Verstappen's career.
"I have to stay at 69 or go to 169 because it is actually quite a cool number,"
he said on one of the two victory podiums located outside the fountains of the
Bellagio casino.
It was Verstappen's eighth consecutive podium, F1-record eighth win in the
United States, and he beat points leader Lando Norris by more than 20 seconds.
Verstappen started second but took control of the race in the very first turn
when Norris made an aggressive move to cut in front of him at the start but
wound up sliding wide of the turn in his McLaren. Verstappen moved to the lead
and George Russell darted past Norris into second.
"I made the mistake in Turn 1, that cost me," Norris said. "Sometimes a good
result is second and scoring some points."
It was the 150th career start for Norris, which tied the McLaren record with
David Coulthard. He will become McLaren's most tenured driver next week in
Qatar with his 151th start.
But after his slip in the first turn, Norris found himself stuck back in third,
and teammate Oscar Piastri fared no better as the Australian lost two spots on
the start to drop from fifth to seventh. The two McLaren drivers have swapped
the lead in the driver standings all season and Norris held a 24-point lead
over Piastri at the start, while Verstappen was 49 points back.
Norris finished second and Russell was third, and with two races remaining on
the year Norris' lead is 30 points over Piastri and Verstappen trimmed his
deficit to 42 points.
Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes crossed the finish line in fourth but a penalty
dropped him a spot to fifth, which moved Piastri to fourth.
The biggest mover of the race was seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who
qualified 20th in Ferrari's first last-place qualifying result since 2009. He
actually started 19th and immediately gained six spots. Hamilton steadily
picked his way through the field and finished 10th.
Charles Leclerc finished sixth for Ferrari as he and Hamilton both finished in
the points one race after both failed to finish in Brazil, which drew criticism
from Ferrari executive chairman John Elkann.
Carlos Sainz Jr. started third but finished seventh for Williams, while Isack
Hadjar of Racing Bull was eighth. Nico Hlkenberg of Sauber and Hamilton
rounded out the top 10.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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