F1 Las Vegas GP: Five quick takeaways

Norris closes in on the title

Lando Norris is peaking at exactly the right moment, and he now looks like the clear favourite for the title.

Admittedly, his performance in Las Vegas wasn't as impressive as in Mexico and Brazil, but the Nevada track has never been one of McLaren's favourites. Nevertheless, the Briton is doing everything he needs to for his title challenge.

Although Verstappen won another race, Lando's lead has once again increased, and now he's 30 points ahead. With just two rounds remaining, he's firmly in control of the title race.

- Oleg Karpov

Piastri's poor run of form continues

It just isn't happening for Oscar Piastri, is it? The Australian was desperate to start making inroads into team-mate Norris' championship lead, but instead he has fallen further behind and is now going to have to hurry up to hold off Max Verstappen for second.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren (Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images via Getty Images)

Piastri's most recent performances certainly haven't been as bad as his Baku, Austin and Mexico weekends, and he was unlucky to qualify fifth in Las Vegas after catching a yellow flag at a crucial time. But he has still been unable to stop a high-flying Norris, who now looks all but certain to wrap up the title. There's a lot of food for thought for the 24-year-old, who will be trying to figure out how he can replicate his championship-winning form from the first half of 2025 over an entire campaign.

- Filip Cleeren

A Verstappen-Russell F1 title fight is needed

When George Russell overtook Lando Norris for second during the opening lap and started applying pressure on Max Verstappen, it looked as though fans were in for an enticing victory battle. It didn’t quite transpire that way, but for the short time that they were fighting, where they quickly pulled away from everybody else, it showed a glimpse of how good a championship fight between those two next year would be.

That’s because Verstappen and Russell have arguably been levels above any other driver this season, and the Mercedes racer seems like the only one who doesn’t bow down to the pressure of fighting the four-time F1 world champion.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, George Russell, Mercedes (Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images)

It’d be like putting fire against fire, especially because of the history between the pair – as last year’s Abu Dhabi finale showed. There’d certainly be more animosity than there has been in the harmonious McLaren battle in 2025, and perhaps give F1 its most dramatic season since 2021.

- Ed Hardy

Williams all but secured fifth in the championship

Williams took yet another step toward securing fifth place in the constructors’ championship in Las Vegas.

While Carlos Sainz couldn’t hold on to the third place he achieved in Friday qualifying, the Spaniard’s seventh position in tonight’s race meant that Williams outscored its midfield rivals and left the Strip with a 31-point advantage over Racing Bulls, which sits sixth in the championship.

With one of the two remaining grands prix being a sprint weekend in Qatar — meaning a significant number of points is still on the table — Racing Bulls would still need to produce a remarkable feat, like Alpine’s in Brazil last year, to try to cut the gap to Williams. While that isn’t impossible, it certainly looks difficult to achieve in Losail or Abu Dhabi.

Carlos Sainz, Williams (Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images via Getty Images)

If Williams ultimately secures fifth in the constructors’, it will be its best finishing position since it was also fifth in 2017 and will provide a solid foundation as the Grove-based team continues its path toward the front of the grid.

- Federico Faturos

Litmus test for Hadjar comes next year

Las Vegas didn’t really offer anything new regarding the fight for the second Red Bull seat in 2026, as it was more of the same. Incumbent Yuki Tsunoda continued his run of not being able to catch a break, while Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar impressed once more, and it’s pretty obvious where this is going.

So obvious that Red Bull may as well announce Hadjar as Max Verstappen’s 2026 team-mate on Monday. But as good as the 21-year-old has been this season, one could argue the true litmus test will only come when he’s a Red Bull driver and in the same situation as Tsunoda is now.

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls Team (Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images)

That’s because the Japanese driver also impressed at the junior squad - granted he didn’t score a podium, but anything can happen in a one-off weekend - so how much of a gauge is it really for how good of a racer somebody is?

The top drivers will be able to cope with the pressures of Red Bull, so let’s see how Hadjar fares when it’s time…

- Ed Hardy