Championship celebrations without a podium, points erased after the finish and a penalty triggered by the track itself. These five numbers show how much can happen in Vegas before—and after—the checkered flag.
Three titles. All secured in fifth.
Three drivers have clinched the Formula 1 world championship in Las Vegas. Every one of them finished fifth.
Nelson Piquet did it in 1981, Keke Rosberg followed in 1982, and Max Verstappen repeated the outcome in 2024.
Piquet and Rosberg raced at Caesars Palace, a different circuit from today’s route around the Strip. Verstappen’s title came more than four decades later, but the finishing position was identical.
Three championships, two circuits and no place on the podium for the driver taking home the biggest prize.
Thirty points disappeared after the finish
McLaren’s 2025 Vegas result initially delivered second place for Lando Norris and fourth for Oscar Piastri. Together, those positions were worth 30 points.
Then came the technical checks.
Both cars were disqualified because their rear skids were worn below the minimum permitted thickness. Norris lost 18 points and Piastri lost 12.
The decision also changed the championship picture. Verstappen left Vegas level with Piastri and 24 points behind Norris, with two rounds remaining. McLaren’s damage came after its drivers had finished racing.
Hamilton climbed from tenth to second
Lewis Hamilton started tenth in 2024 and finished second, completing a Mercedes one-two behind George Russell.
The detail that makes the recovery stand out: there was no Safety Car to close the gaps. Formula 1’s official race statistics recorded no yellow flags at all.
Hamilton gained eight positions without a neutralization resetting the race around him. Qualifying had left him in the fifth row. His race ended alongside his winning teammate on the podium.
Second place came down to 0.171 seconds
Charles Leclerc was still chasing Sergio Pérez on the final lap of the inaugural Strip race in 2023.
He passed the Red Bull driver and reached the finish just 0.171 seconds ahead, denying the team a one-two behind Verstappen.
That was the margin between second and third, not the winning margin. It was also the difference between 18 points and 15.
Pérez had almost completed the job. Leclerc needed one more opportunity—and took it.
Track damage cost Sainz ten grid places
Carlos Sainz qualified second in 2023 but started 12th. The ten-place penalty traced back to opening practice, when a drain cover badly damaged his Ferrari.
The team had to replace his energy store, the battery in the hybrid system. That replacement exceeded his permitted allocation and triggered the grid drop.
Ferrari asked for an exemption. The stewards said the regulations did not allow them to grant one, despite the unusual circumstances.
A front-row qualifying performance became a sixth-row start because of damage caused by the circuit itself. Sainz recovered to finish sixth.
One more Vegas milestone is within reach
Las Vegas is the final U.S. Grand Prix on the calendar, and only Max Verstappen has won all three American races in a single season, completing the sweep in 2023.
Kimi Antonelli has already won Miami and Austin this year. Victory in Vegas would put him alongside Verstappen, a possibility we explored in Can Antonelli Match Verstappen’s Record?.
