Max Verstappen makes double entendre joke after taking 69th F1 win at Las Vegas GP

Max Verstappen made a bawdy joke after securing his 69th F1 win at the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix on Sunday. The Red Bull driver started the 50-lap race on the front row beside pole-sitter Lando Norris.

In an attempt to defend P1 off the start, Norris made a sharp move from the outside to the inside on the straight to cover Verstappen. Unfortunately, he carried too much pace into Turn 1 and ran wide, slightly into the runoff area. Consequently, George Russell, who started in P4, overtook Carlos Sainz in P3 and also Lando Norris to secure P2 after Turn 1.

The Mercedes driver went on the charge to hunt Max Verstappen for the race lead, but to no avail. The reigning and four-time F1 champion also went on a push to sustain his lead and eventually came home with his 69th career win. Norris overtook Russell for P2 on lap 34 of the race.

In a special F1TV post-race interview, Hollywood actor Sam Worthington interviewed the Top 3 alongside David Coulthard. The star of the upcoming movie Avatar: Fire and Ash asked Verstappen about his 69th win and if he would go to a casino and bet on the numbers six and nine on the roulette wheel since he was in Sin City. The Dutchman made a double entendre joke with a deadpan face, saying:

"I mean I have to stay at 69 or I have to go to 169, because it's actually quite a cool number."

He then burst into laughter after Lando Norris, standing beside him, let out a laugh. This was the second time this week that Max Verstappen cracked a "69" joke. Earlier this weekend, when F1 commissioned a new rule allowing drivers to change their car numbers from 2026, the Dutchman joked:

"I actually wanted No. 69, but my dad said, 'That's not a good idea'. But that number always looks the same, no matter how you look at the car! No. 69 would be very good for the photos and marketing, and for the caps as well. It doesn't matter how you wear them, it always stays No. 69. In that respect, it would be a good marketing tool."

Lando Norris jokes he let Max Verstappen win at the Las Vegas GP

Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, Gianpiero Lambiase, and George Russell on the podium after the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Lando Norris' aggressive move to cover Max Verstappen on the opening lap turned out to be a failure. He then had to spend most of the race in dirty air in P3 behind George Russell, before finally retaking the place on lap 34.

In the post-race F1TV interview, the McLaren driver joked about how he wanted to put on a show in Las Vegas and allowed his Red Bull rival to take the lead and win the race.

"I let Max have a win," said Norris. "Let him have a go. Let him have a nice race. No, I just braked too late. It was my F-up. I wanted to put up a show, right? That's why we are in Vegas."

Norris also experienced a mysterious issue in the closing stages of the race, as he was forced to lift and coast, losing over 10 seconds in a few laps. Nonetheless, he retained P2 and improved his championship lead over second-placed Oscar Piastri from 24 points to 30 points.

Max Verstappen's win in Las Vegas was his sixth of the 2025 F1 season and a record-extending eighth win in the United States. He closed the gap to Piastri from 25 points to 12 points.

Edited by Yash Kotak