My Paradox

By Diego Martinez

Laps 1-20

As the lights went out, the three-week stretch to naming a drivers champion began. The race began with aggressive moves into turn 1 as Norris defended the lead away from Verstappen. Unfortunately, Norris missed his breaking point as Verstappen was able to take the lead easily. Russell also took advantage of this mistake as he moved by Norris into P2.

It was a chaotic turn 1 for the midfield as Lawson made minor contact with Piastri. Bortoleto’s breaking mistake into turn 1 costed him his race as he made contact with Stroll, leading to both of their retirements from the race. Hamilton took advantage of the chaos by making his way up to P13 after starting last on the grid.

On lap 12, Leclerc was fighting in P7 as he pushed past Piastri and Hadjar to move into P5. A VSC was initiated after Hamilton made contact with Albon, resulting in debris on the track. During this, Antonelli received a 5-second penalty after he was seen creeping off the line during the start sequence.

After Russell pitted, we went into the remaining thirty laps with Verstappen leading, Norris and Sainz finishing off the podium.

Laps 20-40

Albon received a 5-second penalty regarding the contact between him and Hamilton.

Hamilton was pushing with all he could, as he was able to move up into the points at P7.

Norris was struggling to gain any time on Verstappen, as his lap times became slower compared to Verstappen.

It was a tight race for the lead after Verstappen left the pit lane right besides Russell. Verstappen was able to move by avoiding an overtake.

Norris was able to push and gain more time on Russell (P2), who began to struggle on the hards. Norris saw his struggle as an opportunity, as Norris was able to swing by Russell, moving into P2 and in contention to win the race.

Albon, who had no communication on the radio, was ordered to retire from the car, becoming the third retirement of the race.

Piastri has been pushing, as he was battling Antonelli for P4.

Laps 40-50

There was a three-way battle for P4 between Antonelli, Piastri, and Leclerc.

Norris was continuing to struggle to gain time on Verstappen. The gap grew to 6 seconds towards the end of the race.

Piastri and Leclerc continued to add pressure on Antonelli, who needed to serve a 5-second penalty at the end of the race.

The gap between Verstappen and Norris grows to 13 seconds, as Verstappen pushes to the race win.

Norris uncovers an issue with the car resulting in a significant gap increase.

Max Verstappen crosses the line to win the Las Vegas Grand Prix with Lando Norris and George Russell finishing the podium.

The championship

As it stands, the top three remain in contention for the title.

1st. Norris – 408

2nd. Piastri – 378

3rd. Verstappen – 366