F1 Las Vegas GP: Penalised Max Verstappen beats Charles Leclerc to win thriller
The Red Bull driver had to fightback from a five-second time penalty for forcing Leclerc wide at Turn 1, passing🦂 both his teammate Sergio Perez and Leclerc for a second time en route to victory in an eventful race that featured two ꩲSafety Cars.
Leclerc appeared to have lost out on second place to a recovering Perez when he ran wide in ♚the closing stages, but൲ the polesitter seized the position back with a brilliant last-lap overtake.
Perez had to settle with the final spot on the podium after losing a place on the last lap for the second time in two races. However, the result sees the Me☂xican seal second place in the championship to give Red Bull their first-ever 1-2 finish.
Verstappen’s victory was his 18th from 21 races in a dominant 2023 caওmpaign and also marked a record-breaking achievement for Red Bull, who have surpassed Mercedes’ previous tally of 19🦹 wins in a single season.
Esteban Ocon claimed a strong fourth for Alpine, ahead of Aston Martin’s Lan💞ce Stroll and C🐓arlo Sainz’s Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton recovered from a mid-race punctu🃏re to take seventh while Mercedes teammate George Russell was demoted to eighth after picking up a penalty for making cont꧒act with Verstappen.
Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri completed the top💫-10 for Aston Martin and McꦆLaren respectively.
Mc𒉰Laren’s Lando Norris has been sent to hospital for precautionary checks following a heavy crash on the fourth la𒉰p of F1’s first race in Las Vegas since 1982.
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