2025 F1 Las Vegas GP: Winners and Losers

The F1 Las Vegas GP has turned the championship on its head, and it has done so, springing an even bigger surprise than anyone would have expected. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the McLaren drivers who are top 2 in the championship, have been disqualified from the race due to technical infringement.

The manner in which the race had ended, we had Lando Norris being 42 points ahead of Max Verstappen going into the F1 Qatar GP. With the DSQ, it's all changed now, as the gap is only 24 points.

So, as we get ready to move on from the F1 Las Vegas GP, who are the ones that were happy with how the weekend went, and who were a bit upset? Let's take a look.

2025 F1 Las Vegas GP

Winner

Max Verstappen

It's not just about winning the race for Max Verstappen, it's about what happened afterwards. The Dutch driver did the job that he needed to, and the car was sublime during the F1 Las Vegas GP.

However, it is what happened in the other team that has made Verstappen the biggest winner. With Lando Norris disqualified, the gap to the championship leader is now just 24 points. With 2 races and one sprint left, that's achievable.

Which is all that Verstappen ever wanted!

Loser

Lando Norris

Maybe Lando Norris could have been more precise with his swipe across the track into T1, but none of that matters now. Norris did what was more or less needed from him to put himself in a position where the title was more or less sealed.

Unfortunately for him, the car suffered from excessive plank wear, and hence he's lost those valuable 18 points that he had secured. He leads the championship by 24 points now, and that's still a healthy lead by all means.

Winner

Mercedes

Mercedes moves on from the F1 Las Vegas GP with a P2 and P3 in a race weekend where they maybe had potential for more. A win could have been on the table if the drivers had a perfect weekend. Unfortunately, they didn't, but it was still an impressive drive from Kimi Antonelli to climb up to P3.

The race more or less secures P2 in the constructors' championship for the team.

Loser

Ferrari

Ferrari is facing a situation where both the drivers are not happy. One driver is not happy because he continues to get dominated, while the other is not happy because the car is just not good enough.

The F1 Las Vegas GP was just another example of that, as the team is now more or less set to take P4 in the championship.

Winner

Oscar Piastri

It does sound a bit weird to put Oscar Piastri as a winner after the F1 Las Vegas GP, especially since he got disqualified from the race. However, with the way the chips have fallen, this is maybe the best thing that could have happened to the Aussie.

The driver was leaving the F1 Las Vegas GP with a 30-point deficit. The way this has played out, now he has 2 races and one sprint to overcome a 24-point deficit to his team, even though he looks completely out of it at this moment.

Loser

Liam Lawson

Liam Lawson is one of the drivers who is fighting for his career in these last few races. This was precisely why the result in São Paulo was important for him.

Unfortunately, he was unable to get much done in the F1 Las Vegas GP, owing to the first-lap incident. That one came at probably the worst time for the driver.

Edited by Charanjot Singh Kohli