F1: Verstappen extends record in Las Vegas with 18th victory

Max Verstappen was averse to the glitz and glamor of Las Vegas, but in the Red Bull the Dutchman focused entirely on the sport and once again drove unstoppably to victory. Not even a five-second time penalty could stop him in the spectacular race.

The world champion extended his record series in Formula 1 in the American gambling town. It was his 18th victory of the season. "Viva Las Vegas! Viva Las Vegas!" sang the young reigning world champion as he approached the checkered flag, sports magazine Marca reported. Verstappen has now achieved 53 victories in his career, the same number as Germany's Sebastian Vettel. The two now share third place in the all-time rankings.

Red Bull almost celebrated a double victory, as team-mate Sergio Pérez was in second place until the last lap. But Charles Leclerc was able to overtake the Mexican in his Ferrari shortly before the finish.

Time penalty

Verstappen had expressed his aversion to Las Vegas before the race. In his eyes, Formula 1's visit to the gambling paradise was 99 percent show and 1 percent sport. The Dutchman had to allow a bit of show before the race, probably against his will. He wore a white suit with a gold belt for the occasion, a tribute to Vegas icon Elvis Presley.

Once the red lights went out, Verstappen was immediately in sport mode. He started second, but on the inside of the first corner, he pushed his Red Bull past Leclerc's Ferrari, who had started from pole position. Coming out of the corner, Verstappen pushed his rival off the track, allowing him to stay in the lead. The race stewards decided that Verstappen should not have made this maneuver and imposed a five-second penalty.

Catching up

After an early crash by Lando Norris (McLaren), the safety car came out onto the track. Verstappen took off at the restart and immediately took the lead, but was unable to hold it for long. He wore out his tires much faster than Leclerc, who overtook him after 16 laps and took the lead. The driver from Limburg immediately made a pit stop to collect his time penalty and change to hard tires. Things went much better on this rubber.

He started a race to catch up, which took him from ninth to fifth place in a short space of time. As he overtook George Russell on the inside, the Briton touched him with his Mercedes and carbon debris flew across the track. The safety car came out on track again and Verstappen opted for a second pit stop and fresh tires. Leclerc did not, and this was to cost the Monegasque driver dearly. The Ferrari driver did not manage to maintain first place on 'older' tires. First Pérez passed him, then the unleashed Verstappen passed him hard.