Las Vegas Grand Prix Review: Super Max and a McLaren Double DSQ Blows Title Race Wide Open

Las Vegas Grand Prix Review: Super Max and a McLaren Double DSQ Blows Title Race Wide Open

Las Vegas promised chaos under the lights – and it absolutely delivered.
On paper, it will go down as “another Max Verstappen win”. In reality, the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix might be the night the entire driver championship story flipped on its head.
Between McLaren’s double disqualification, Super Max doing Super Max things, Kimi Antonelli’s excellent drive and a very subdued Lewis Hamilton, Vegas gave us drama from every angle.
Let’s break it down.

Super Max in Vegas: Once in Front, Game Over

While the stewards were rewriting the story in the background, Max Verstappen did what he does best: turn opportunity into inevitability.
The key moment came at the start. Lando Norris seemed irritated by Max taking his time getting to his starting position. Distracted enough not to get in enough burnouts as per his engineer's instructions, compounding low track temps and grip. He then went too deep at the first corner – just slightly, but enough. In a field this tight, “slightly” is all Verstappen ever needs. Once he slipped into the lead, it felt like the race was done.
  • No panic.
  • No wild radio messages.
  • No second chances for the rest of the field.
From there, Verstappen controlled the pace like only he can – managing tyres, managing gaps, and making one of the most chaotic venues on the calendar look routine.
The headline might read “Max wins again”, but in the context of McLaren’s double DSQ, this win feels bigger. It’s not just another trophy for the cabinet; it could be the moment the title became a possibility rather than a pipedream.

McLaren’s Double Disqualification: From Dream Night to Championship Nightmare

McLaren arrived in Vegas with uncertainty. Las Vegas has been a bogey track for them in previous years; however, Lando looked class in practice and qualy in challenging conditions, and it is fair to say he looked good for the win or at least a big result to edge closer to a likely Driver's Championship. And, as the race transpired, a strong second place was the result, extending his lead over Piastri and limiting a big points swing to Max.

And then the scrutineering happened.

Post‑race checks found skid plank irregularities that led to both cars being disqualified. No points. Just a brutal line in the final classification and a massive swing in the championship maths.
Why it matters so much:
  • Huge points swing – What should have been a big haul for McLaren instantly turned into a zero.
  • Momentum killer – Lando looked like he was on a winning wave, Max soundly beat him.
  • Psychological blow – Not just to Lando, to the whole Papaya family. Questions will be asked, and conspiracy theories are rife. 
Instead of Lando tightening his grip on the title, McLaren has effectively opened the door for a blockbuster finale. With just two rounds left, every lap, every pit stop, every tiny setup call suddenly matters twice as much. The pressure is really on now. One thing is for sure, if he does pull it off, this will be well earned and hugely satisfactory for Lando and his fan base. 

Kimi Antonelli: Risky Strategy, Big Reward

Away from the front‑page drama, Kimi Antonelli quietly put in one of the drives of the weekend.
Mercedes rolled the dice on strategy – the kind of call that can make you look like geniuses or clowns. In Vegas, it landed firmly on the genius side. Antonelli kept his head, made the tyres work when they really shouldn’t have, and delivered the kind of performance that makes the rest of the grid sit up.
Key takeaways from Antonelli’s race:
  • Calm under pressure – He didn’t overdrive the car, trying to force something that wasn’t there.
  • Trust in the team – Stuck with a risky plan that could easily have backfired.
  • Statement drive – Not a fluke result, but the sort of measured, intelligent race that screams “future champion”.
In a weekend where the headlines will be dominated by disqualifications and title talk, Antonelli’s race might quietly be one of the most important of his young F1 career.


Lewis Hamilton: A Tough Night and a Big Test of Resilience

Then there’s Lewis.
Vegas was not the kind of race that fills a seven‑time world champion with confidence. The pace wasn’t where he wanted it, the result wasn’t what he needed, and the mood afterwards said it all – this was a driver who looked and sounded lost.
You could see it in the body language and hear it: frustration, fatigue, and a sense that the mountain keeps getting steeper.
But here’s the thing about Lewis Hamilton: he has built an entire career on bouncing back when people start to doubt.
With two rounds left:
  • He needs a reset – mentally more than mechanically.
  • He’ll be desperate to end the season on something that feels like his terms.
  • Every session from now to the chequered flag at the finale is a chance to shift the narrative.
If he does respond – and history says he usually does – the final races could give us one last classic Hamilton surge to close out the year.


Two Rounds to Go: Title Race in Full Send Mode

So, where does Vegas leave us?
  • McLaren’s double DSQ has blown the Driver's Championship wide open.
  • Verstappen is really in the mix, and that is dangerous.
  • Antonelli has underlined why so many people are calling him the next big thing.
  • Hamilton is staring down one of the toughest mental resets of his career.
For fans, it’s the perfect setup: a title fight that suddenly has real jeopardy again, a grid full of storylines, and two races left (and a Sprint) for someone to write themselves into F1 folklore.

Vegas was supposed to be a show.
It might just have been the turning point.
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