Red Bull strikes back on a circuit that had been a hostile territory until last year. In Las Vegas, Max Verstappen delivers a vital victory, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli capitalizes on a bold strategy that proves decisive. McLaren, instead, pushes its setup too far and pays a heavy price. Ferrari, meanwhile, endures another challenging weekend, sliding closer to fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship.
Verstappen’s sixth win seals Red Bull’s redemption
Everything is executed to perfection by Max Verstappen, starting with the pressure he applies on Lando Norris at the run into Turn 1, forcing the McLaren driver into a mistake and taking command of the race. Once ahead, Verstappen resists the temptation to break away immediately. He avoids overheating the tyres in the laps following the Virtual Safety Car, even leaving himself exposed to an attack from George Russell.
It turns out to be only an illusion: once clear, Verstappen makes the most of clean air, extends his first stint, manages the tyres and begins to push only when it is strictly necessary to break Norris’ hopes of launching a comeback.
With the Las Vegas victory, Verstappen proves once again that when he starts from the front rows he remains extremely difficult to beat, especially on circuits where thermal tyre degradation is low, as in Nevada. The Dutch driver fully repays Red Bull for the work carried out over the last year, closing the major weaknesses that had emerged in 2024 with the low-downforce package.
The RB21 is now the best car on the grid in this configuration, dominating on the three circuits that best represent this characteristic: Las Vegas, Baku and Monza. To this, Red Bull adds pole position at Silverstone and the Sprint victory at Spa.
Verstappen now stands on six wins this season, enough to keep the championship alive even as it approaches its conclusion. The title fight has been unexpectedly reopened by McLaren’s double disqualification, creating a dramatic shift in momentum. Verstappen hopes this will not be his final victory with Red Bull, not only because it keeps his title hopes alive, but because McLaren will likely be the favourite in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Looking ahead to 2026, there are also many uncertainties surrounding Red Bull’s first power unit developed entirely in Milton Keynes.
Norris feels the world championship slipping away
Lando Norris crossed the finish line in second place, a result that would have carried the weight of a victory in the championship fight. Unfortunately for him, McLaren was hit with a double disqualification, a dramatic blow for the team and for Norris’ title ambitions.
The reason behind the disqualification is excessive wear to the plank under the car, a consequence of an extremely aggressive ride-height choice. It is a serious error from the reigning world champions, made worse by the fact that the circuit is particularly tough on plank wear and by the inability to conduct representative long-run simulations during the free practice sessions.
The regret is enormous, because McLaren came close to redeeming itself on a track that had been extremely problematic for them in recent seasons. On paper, Las Vegas was expected to be the most dangerous race of the year for the MCL39. Yet the car suffered no collapse due to graining – a known weakness of the McLaren – highlighting the strong work done by the team. All of this was undone by the poor management of plank wear.
Now McLaren and Norris must remain calm heading into the final rounds. The next circuits are technically favourable to their car, but the psychological momentum is entirely with Max Verstappen.
Antonelli’s strategic gamble pays off
The other big winner of the night is Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who, together with Mercedes, takes a major strategic risk that ultimately pays off. After a qualifying error triggered by a patch of standing water, the Italian driver starts near the back and Mercedes elects to target the hard tyres, which appear to be the best choice for the race but whose behaviour remains uncertain before the start.
Antonelli begins on softs and takes advantage of the Virtual Safety Car to switch to hards, completing a remarkable 48 laps on them. His tyre management proves exceptional, delivering what becomes the highlight of his race. First, he defends himself against Oscar Piastri, waiting for the graining phase to clear before extending the gap. He even manages to keep the position ahead of Charles Leclerc despite the five-second penalty he receives for a small error at the start.
Despite having 15 more laps on his tyres than George Russell, Kimi Antonelli ends the race lapping even faster than his teammate, who appears to be slowed by a steering issue. George Russell had run second at the end of the opening lap, but it quickly becomes clear that Mercedes no longer has the pace it enjoyed here last year. The milder ambient temperatures and a less extreme car concept compared to the 2024 Las Vegas-winning design both play a role.
“The situation has changed a lot in the last 12 months since we were so competitive here last year,” Russell noted on Thursday. “We’ve improved the car on other tracks, but that might have made us less strong here.” The overall picture remains positive: Mercedes still stands close to second place in the Constructors’ Championship thanks to a car that, across the full season, has generally been more competitive.
Ferrari struggles and edges closer to fourth
Antonelli’s comeback even surprises Lewis Hamilton, who cannot explain why he finished behind the young Italian. Ferrari opts for a more conservative strategy, starting on hards and ending on medium tyres that prove uncompetitive. The final stint is so challenging that Hamilton lapped slower than the impressive Nico Hülkenberg despite being on the same compound.
The first Ferrari across the line is once again Charles Leclerc, who manages to recover positions in the midfield battle but lacks the final margin needed to overtake Piastri’s McLaren and Antonelli’s Mercedes. The straight-line speed deficit, caused in part by the higher-downforce rear wing mounted for the wet qualifying session, does not help.
The Scuderia now finds itself increasingly likely to finish fourth in the championship, with the small consolation of gaining more wind-tunnel and CFD hours for next season’s crucial development period.
Behind Leclerc finishes former Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz. Williams does not waste the opportunity offered by a friendly track and confirms itself as the fifth force in the pecking order. The Grove team distances itself from Racing Bulls, who, thanks to Isack Hadjar’s eighth-place finish, can still hope to secure sixth in the standings, matching the best result in the history of the Faenza-based team.
The next round in Qatar will be critical for many of these fights. Despite the swings of Las Vegas, the overall focus remains on a world championship battle that seemed to be leaning clearly towards McLaren, but is now dramatically reopened.
Two races left. Verstappen trails Norris by 24 points, level with Piastri. Red Bull’s resurrection is complete, Antonelli announced himself to the world, and McLaren must regroup fast. Qatar and Abu Dhabi are going to be unmissable.
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