Under the neon glare and desert cold of Las Vegas, Formula One opened its season-ending triple header with a race that blew the championship wide open. What was expected to clarify the title fight instead plunged it into uncertainty, with a dramatic double disqualification reshaping the run-in completely.
All of it now feeds into a finale that will end in Abu Dhabi in two week, where the champion will almost certainly be decided on the back of the extraordinary twists unleashed in Las Vegas.
Here are the most compelling storylines from a weekend that changed everything.
Both McLarens disqualified
Lando Norris had delivered one of his finest qualifying laps of the year, mastering a treacherous, low-grip circuit to take an exceptional pole position. It felt like the night he would demonstrate why he was the champion in waiting.
Even though he lost out to Max Verstappen when the lights went out, Norris still salvaged second place and what looked like a comfortable extension of his championship lead. Oscar Piastri, meanwhile, fought his way to fourth and kept McLaren’s . one-two in the standings intact.
But hours later, everything unravelled. Post-race checks found excessive plank wear on both McLarens, with the skid blocks below the legal minimum. Both drivers were disqualified, forcing the team to absorb a brutal reset of the championship.
Norris should have left Las Vegas with a 30-point cushion over Piastri and a 42-point buffer to Verstappen. Instead, Verstappen and Piastri now sit just 24 points behind him. Verstappen, who looked a distant outsider before the race, is suddenly right back in the title fight.
Just before his disqualification, Norris joked that he had “let Max win” and “let him have a nice race,” before admitting he simply braked too late into Turn 1. “I wanted to put on a show, right?” he said. The irony is that the championship now promises exactly that, and perhaps the most dramatic show of all.
Team Principal Andrea Stella apologised publicly to the entire paddock and to the team’s supporters, accepting full responsibility for the oversight that has provoked jeopardy.
For Norris, the blow is softened by the fact that he still leads the championship. But for Piastri, the picture is more complicated. The Australian has drifted just enough in form to leave people wondering whether he can handle the pressure of a three-way title fight. Stella has noted that Piastri is still adapting to certain circuits and surface types, particularly low-grip or rapidly evolving tracks, where he can struggle to maintain performance across a full race distance.
Now, instead of wrapping things up early, McLaren and especially Norris will arrive in Qatar this weekend with everything suddenly in the balance, and the figure of Verstappen, a four-time champion, looming large.
Victory propels Verstappen back into title race
For Verstappen, the Las Vegas Grand Prix felt like the moment the door finally creaked open again, offering a whiff of a chance to fight for a fifth world title. After months spent chasing shadows, this was the hint of opportunity he had been craving. And in the dry race conditions, where Red Bull looked far more comfortable, Verstappen produced another impeccable performance.
Imagine this, after the Dutch Grand Prix he sat 104 points behind Piastri, his title defence appearing all but finished. Then came Monza. Verstappen crushed the field there, inishing almost 20 seconds ahead of the McLarens. He backed it up with victory in Azerbaijan, and as Red Bull’s upgrades took effect, he made himself a contender in the following weeks.
Las Vegas offered another chance at maximum points. Verstappen grabbed it with both hands. What followed made the win even more consequential. With both McLarens disqualified for excessive plank wear, Verstappen’s victory slashed Norris’ championship lead to just 24 points and lifted him level with Piastri in second on 366 points.
Can he pull off a miracle and make it five F1 championships in a row? Few would bet against him with only two races remaining.
Antonelli continues to impress
Mercedes left Nevada with one of their most valuable results of the season and, more importantly, a much clearer picture of Kimi Antonelli’s progression. His weekend began in difficulty after falling out in Q1 and lining up 17th on the grid, yet what he has shown across the past few races speaks to a young driver developing impressively.
He went through a difficult middle stretch in which he scored points only once across seven races, with his maiden podium in Canada the lone result that interrupted that sequence. After Monza in early September, he and Mercedes management held what he described as a "big and tough" meeting. According to Antonelli, that conversation led him to reset his approach and refocus on the basics for the remainder of the year.
Sao Paulo highlighted his progress with second place in both the sprint and the grand prix. Las Vegas continued that pattern. Starting on soft tyres and switching to hards on Lap 3, he managed a demanding one-stop strategy and rose through the field. He finished fifth on the road and was promoted to third after the McLaren disqualifications.
George Russell, who had crossed the line in third, was lifted to second as a result. For Mercedes, the outcome strengthens their position in the Constructors’ standings, 40 points ahead of third-place Red Bull, although a whopping 325 points behind leaders McLaren.
Hamilton’s horrendous weekend
Lewis Hamilton arrived at Ferrari dreaming of a renaissance. Instead, what was meant to be a rebirth has unravelled into something of a nightmare.
Qualifying last on outright pace for the first time in his 19-year F1 career was a jolt that stunned all, especially as the seven-time world champion had been optimistic after he describing the car as "awesome" in FP3. Ferrari had looked sharp through practice, but once the rain fell and the track became unpredictable, Hamilton struggled again. It was the first time a Ferrari had qualified slowest since 2009.
“It can’t get much worse than that,” he said afterwards, visibly shaken. On Sunday, he launched forward with trademark aggression, making up places off the start, but the progress evaporated. He wrestled a car that lacked balance, battled braking issues and then picked up damage in a clash with Alex Albon. Stuck behind Nico Hulkenberg for much of the race, he finished 10th, later promoted to eighth only because both McLarens were disqualified.
“It’s a terrible result. There is nothing positive to take from today … horrendous weekend,” Hamilton told BBC Radio. “I’m eager for it to end. I’m not looking forward to the next one … next season.”
He sits sixth in the championship, 73 points behind teammate Charles Leclerc, and still without a grand prix podium in Ferrari red. Should his struggles continue through Qatar and Abu Dhabi, it would be the first podium-less season of his F1 career.
