Verstappen party in Las Vegas in an Elvis costume, 18th victory this year for the Dutchman

Max Verstappen joins Alan Jones (1981) and Michele Alboreto (1982) on the list of Formula 1 winners in Las Vegas, the gambling city’s first GP in 41 years, by dominating the 21st race of the sporting year.

Despite receiving an early 5-minute time penalty, which was mitigated with his first pit stop, despite having two tire changes on Charles Leclerc’s and despite a collision with George Russell, the champion chased down Ferrari’s Monegasque and managed to beat him with 15 laps to go to overtake the checkered flag and take his 18th win of the year.

Verstappen was penalized for pushing Leclerc off the track in the first corner after the start, to which the Dutchman reacted “Yes, no problem, greetings warmly.”

Later, the RB19’s front wing broke when it came into contact with Russell, but it continued on without serious problems. And finally, he used the safety car phase to clear the debris from this collision and make his second pit stop without much delay.

Perez also used this second safety car in the same way to overtake Leclerc on the track and take the lead. However, the Mexican soon struggled with tire wear and lost first place to Leclerc and second to Verstappen.

A mistake by Leclerc at the end allowed Perez to move up to second, but with a few corners to go the Monegasque was able to overtake him again and benefit from the SF-23’s speed on the strip straight. However, Leclerc expressed disappointment that he had not yet been able to convert pole position into a victory, with the second safety car depriving him of the strategic advantage he had gained with his single pit stop.