Lando Norris in nightmare start at Las Vegas GP as F1 star taken out of race

Lando Norris, las vegas, mclaren — Photo: © IMAGO

Las Vegas Grand Prix

Lando Norris in nightmare start at Las Vegas GP as F1 star taken out of race

An exciting start to the Las Vegas GP

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 23 November 2025 05:20 Updated: 08:14

EARLY REPORT: Lando Norris had a nightmare start to the Las Vegas Grand Prix after losing out to F1 rivals Max Verstappen and George Russell on the opening lap.

The Brit defended the Red Bull driver at Turn 1, but went too deep and ran off the track, losing momentum to both Verstappen and Russell.

McLaren's nightmare continued with Oscar Piastri, who lost position to both Racing Bulls and tumbled down to seventh, making contact with Lawson in a move that could be costly for the Aussie as the stewards investigated the incident.

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The stewards decided no further action would be taken over the Piastri and Lawson incident, with a costly penalty avoided.

Stroll and Bortoleto out: Verstappen and Hamilton on the rise

Lawson may have jumped to sixth, but sustained damage to his front wing during the opening lap tussle and fell down the order himself.

Further down the grid, Lance Stroll's Aston Martin was an early casualty of the race and retired before any significant racing could get underway, suffering another collision with Gabriel Bortoleto at Turn 1.

The Brazilian driver also retired from the race after the collision, marking the second consecutive race the two green cars have come together on lap one.

Following the early chaos, a virtual safety car was deployed and neutralised the race, with Lewis Hamilton recovering to 12th during the opening stages on the hard tyres - in contrast to the medium runners at the front.

F1 HEADLINES: Lewis Hamilton LAST as 'unacceptable' penalty slammed at Las Vegas GP

F1 Lando Norris Las Vegas Grand Prix