Red Bull make F1 history as Verstappen defies penalty to win in Vegas

Verstappen, red bull, las vegas, 2023 — Photo: © LAT Images

Las Vegas Grand Prix

Red Bull make F1 history as Verstappen defies penalty to win in Vegas

Sergio Perez's podium finish gives the team their first championship 1-2

Chris Deeley

Sunday 19 November 2023 08:36 Updated: 20:25

Max Verstappen produced a masterful performance on the Las Vegas strip to take victory in the desert, overcoming a penalty and contact with George Russell to claw back past his rivals.

Sergio Perez followed his team-mate and Charles Leclerc home in third place, securing him second place in the championship and giving Red Bull their first ever championship 1-2 in Formula 1.

The Dutchman was given a belated penalty for a first corner incident with Leclerc, leaving him behind the Ferrari and some other rivals after the first round of pitstops, but took advantage of a safety car after being nudged by Russell to pit for fresh rubber and fight back into the lead.

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The first lap showed worrying signs for the rest of the race, with a number of cars spinning and making contact as they failed to get their tyres warmed up down the main straight.

However, grip appeared to come as the laps went on – with the hard compound tyre firing up unexpectedly well, and proving to be a very solid race option.

Sergio Perez took an 11th place gris slot and turned it into a podium

Lando Norris crashed out of the race in spectacular fashion

Perez gambles pay off on long odds

First corner contact proved a blessing in disguise for Perez, coming in immediately to fix some damage and putting a new pair of hard tyres on. That, coupled with the safety car for Lando Norris' spectacular crash a few laps later, put the Mexican on a favourable strategy.

Indeed, Perez led shortly after the second safety car of the race, having passed Leclerc with the aid of DRS, and looked set to challenge for the race win on the freshest tyres of the pack.

Charles Leclerc failed to win from pole once again, but did race well

However, he was re-passed by the Monegasque driver, paying for his decision to run a higher downforce setup. Verstappen came past him (and Leclerc) shortly after, slowly pulling away into the distance.

Further down the field, Lewis Hamilton had a tricky day. The Brit took some light contact in the first corner carnage, before incidental contact later in the race with Oscar Piastri forced them both to pit with a puncture.

Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz's nightmare weekend did end with some points – finishing sixth thanks to Russell's five-second penalty for the contact with Verstappen, despite having taken contact and damage at the first corner.