Five Formula 1 Winners & Losers: Las Vegas Grand Prix

Photo from The Race

Thank God for the 30 minute race review on F1 TV.

Because I wasn’t staying up for this one.

And I’m thankful I didn’t because it was a snoozer.

Here are the winners and losers from Sin City.

Losers

5. Alex Albon

It was a long, long weekend for the Thai driver, who had a poor qualifying effort, and then was forced to retire from the race with 15 laps left.

And considering his teammate Carlos Sainz had a solid weekend, that’s a tough pill to swallow.

4. Liam Lawson

Lawson had an excellent qualifying performance, but a first lap mistake where he ran into Oscar Piastri and damaged his car put him on the back foot for the rest of the race, forcing him to miss the points.

3. Lance Stroll

Are we done yet, Lance?

Can we just be done?

It’s been 8 years. It’s time to call it quits.

2. Gabriel Bortoleto

Bortoleto has been outstanding so far in his rookie season, but he misjudged turn 1 so poorly this weekend that it’s hard to even fathom what happened in the cockpit.

His race ended quickly, but I guess he could go enjoy the Vegas night life!

1. McLaren

It was a good result for the McLaren drivers, and it had Lando Norris with 9 fingers on the championship trophy.

But after the FIA discovered too much plank wear on both cars, the McLaren’s were disqualified.

Meaning, with two races and one sprint left, Max Verstappen is only 24 points behind Norris for the championship lead.

But we’ll discuss that fight later on.

Winners

5. Haas

Double points for Haas in their home country!

Rah rah America!

4. Nico Hulkenberg

Vegas is a track suited for Sauber, so when they’re at tracks like that, it’s crucial for them to maximize their results.

Hulkenberg did that, finishing 7th and bringing home solid points for the Swiss outfit.

3. Isack Hadjar

Fantastic qualifying.

Fantastic result.

Isack Hadjar is the rookie of the year.

2. Kimi Antonelli

Antonelli had a terrible qualifying performance, starting 17th on the grid due to the difficult conditions.

Then, he jump started, so his horrible grid start added a 5 second penalty on top of that.

But the rookie was able to overcome both of those errors, and climbed his way all the way to finish 5th, and then moved into a podium spot thanks to the McLaren double DSQ.

An incredible Saturday night drive for the rookie.

1. Max Verstappen

Verstappen is the driver of the year.

I don’t think he will win the championship. 24 points to make up when there’s only 58 points left available just feels like too big of a mountain to climb.

Still, the fact that Verstappen still has a chance to even finish 2nd in the World Championship this year is a sign that he is the absolute best in the sport.

He is unreal.

One of the best we’ve ever seen.