Winner: Max Verstappen
Even before McLaren's double disqualification, this was a pretty good day out for Max Verstappen. The Dutchman man not be a big admirer of Sin City and its mirage of faux opulence, but he can't stop celebrating one highlight after another. One year on from claiming his fourth world title, Verstappen got the better of Lando Norris at the start and then dominated the race, easily responding to anything Norris could throw his way.
And then came the news of Norris and Piastri being disqualified for excessive plank wear. It means Verstappen draws level with Piastri as they chase down a 24-point gap in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Loser: McLaren
Norris looked set to be handed an easy match point to clinch his maiden world title in Qatar. That can still happen if he outscores Piastri and Verstappen, but McLaren's double DNF is still a costly mistake to make at this stage of this season. Can you imagine if Verstappen had been closer in the standings?
There are mitigating circumstances for both drivers marginally wearing out their planks too much, including a bumpier surface that induced bouncing and a lack of uninterrupted dry-weather running in practice. But the other eight cars who finished in the points were also tested and got their sums right, and there is no such thing as only being a little bit illegal. Either you're within the rules or you're not.
There is some irony in McLaren's double Las Vegas blow somehow bringing Piastri six points closer towards Norris again, but things haven't really been happening for the Aussie. His Vegas form was better, but not quite enough.
Winner: Carlos Sainz
Alex Albon may still have scored enough points to single-handedly keep Williams in fifth place, but after the summer break it has been Carlos Sainz who has been bringing home the results of the Grove-based team, having also started qualifying ahead of his team-mate more often than not.
Las Vegas was another great showing for Sainz, qualifying third, although he was powerless to keep faster cars behind. The net result of McLaren's double DSQ is fifth, and all but guarantees Williams' best constructors' finish since 2017.
Loser: Lewis Hamilton
If Lewis Hamilton's post-qualifying and post-race print sessions were anything to go by, then John Elkann has gotten his wish - drivers talking less. Lewis Hamilton has been monosyllabic on a number of occasions during what he called a "nightmare" year, but Las Vegas felt like a new low as the more he tries to turn his season around, the less it seems like he is being rewarded for his efforts.
Hamilton was so glum that one reporter even asked him to confirm he would be returning next year, which some British media feel he shouldn't. The answer was yes, Hamilton won't throw in the towel before the 2026 regulations that give him the chance to see the back of this ground-effect era of cars that he hasn't been able to get along with. But when asked if there were any positives he could take from his race from 19th to 10th (at the finish), he replied: "Zero."
Winner: Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Second-placed George Russell was the superior Mercedes driver on the Strip, make no mistake about it. But after qualifying a lowly 17th, Antonelli deserves credit for how he rebounded in the race with genuine pace and completed pretty much the entire race on the same set of hard tyres.
The 19-year-old's performance bore a resemblance to his defensive masterclass in Brazil two weeks ago, and it further put his rookie blues over the middle part of the 2025 season in the rear-view mirror.
Loser: Gabriel Bortoleto
Gabriel Bortoleto followed up a bruising home debut in Interlagos, which ended in two crashes, with another character-building experience in Las Vegas after misjudging his braking point on the opening lap and torpedoing Lance Stroll out of the way.
It was an easy mistake to make on the low-grip street circuit, and Bortoleto's blunders over the past two weekends are nowhere near enough to wipe out his impressive rookie season. But it serves as a good reminder that there's no substitute for experience. Every member of the highly rated 2025 rookie class has been there – and several times too.
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