Las Vegas GP: Max Verstappen overcomes early penalty to win thrilling race as Charles Leclerc beats Sergio Perez on final lap for second

Red Bull's Max Verstappen sang "Viva Las Vegas" after winning his 18th race of the season and moving into third place on Formula One's all-time winners list, joining Sebastian Vettel.

The victory on a spectacular night in Sin City was the triple champion's 53rd and sixth in a row, and came after a five-second penalty for forcing Ferrari's Charles Leclerc off track at the start and a collision with Mercedes' George Russell.

Leclerc finished second after starting on pole, losing and regaining the lead before passing Sergio Perez on the final lap to deny Red Bull a seventh one-two of the season.

The victory was Red Bull's 20th in 21 races, another season record, and delivered the racing that had threatened to be overshadowed by a wave of hype as Vegas hosted a grand prix for the first time since the 1980s.

It also completed a three-race sweep in the United States for their 26-year-old Dutch driver, who was also dominant in Miami and Austin.

"It was a tough one," Verstappen said. "I tried to go for it at the start, I think we both braked quite late and then I just ran out of grip and we ended up a bit wide so the stewards gave me a penalty for that."

After the initial setback, Leclerc, whose team is the only one to beat Red Bull this season, demonstrated all of his fighting spirit.

"I wanted that win so bad but what a race," he gasped over the radio after finishing 2.070 seconds behind Verstappen.

It was the second race in a row that Perez was passed on the final lap after he was passed by Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso in Brazil.

Perez did, however, have the consolation of finishing second in a championship won by his teammate a long time ago – another first for Red Bull, who have never finished a season with their drivers one-two.

Alpine's Esteban Ocon finished fourth, Aston Martin's Lance Stroll fifth, and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz sixth.

Mercedes' seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton finished seventh, ahead of a demoted Russell, Alonso, and McLaren's Australian rookie Oscar Piastri, who earned a bonus point for fastest lap.

While Red Bull has long held both titles, Ferrari has closed the gap to second-placed Mercedes to four points with one race left in Abu Dhabi.

As cars raced past the floodlit casinos and hotels and down the Strip, the lack of traction was obvious from the start.

While Verstappen forced Leclerc wide to take the lead, Alonso spun and was hit twice by Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas, with Perez also involved.

As the virtual safety car was deployed, the Mexican pitted for a new front wing, but McLaren's Lando Norris then brought out the full safety car when he crashed on lap three.

Norris was taken to the University Medical Centre for additional precautionary measures.

When racing resumed on lap seven, stewards assessed Verstappen a five-second penalty, which he dismissed. "Yeah, that's fine, send them my regards," he said to race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.

On lap 16, Leclerc retook the lead, with Verstappen pitting and serving the penalty with a 7.7 second stop, dropping him to ninth.

When Leclerc pitted on lap 22, Perez took over at the front, and the Mexican was also helped by the safety car being deployed again on lap 27 to recover debris from the collision between Verstappen and Russell, who was given a five-second penalty.

SportsLigue