The BIGGEST Winners and Losers of the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix

Matt Hylen
3 days ago
5 min read

Photo Credit to Hector Vivas / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Round 22 of the 2025 Formula 1 season is in the books, with lots to discuss as a result. Though most of the action happened after the race's end, Las Vegas delivered a very solid weekend once again. From a crazy qualifying to a masterful race by the winner, to CHAOS at race's end, all is to play for heading into the final two race weekends of 2025.

Now, before we get into my winners and losers of Las Vegas, here is a look at where both Championships are as of now:

Formula One has two main championship competitions. The first of the two Championships is the Drivers' Championship, which is a competition based on the drivers' individual performance. On a non-Sprint style weekend, the drivers who finish in the top 10 in each race will score points (the higher you place, the more points you get). These points are added up, and whichever driver finishes with the most points at the end of the season will win the Drivers' Championship.

The next is the Constructors' Championship, a competition between the teams. The number of points the drivers within a team get each race is combined, creating the total points for the team (e.g., Lando Norris has scored 314 points and Oscar Piastri has scored 336 points, giving the McLaren team 650 points in the Constructors' Championship). The team whose drivers accumulate the most points combined for their team will win the Constructors' Championship.

Note, 21 drivers will be listed within the Drivers' Championship Standings, as Franco Colapinto replaced Jack Doohan at Alpine.

Now, here is a look at the standings for both Championships:

Drivers' Championship Standings:

Lando Norris 390 points
Oscar Piastri 366 points
Max Verstappen 366 points
George Russell 294 points
Charles Leclerc 226 points
Lewis Hamilton 152 points
Andrea Kimi Antonelli 137 points
Alexander Albon 73 points
Isack Hadjar 51 points
Nico Hülkenberg 49 points
Carlos Sainz 48 points
Oliver Bearman 41 points
Fernando Alonso 40 points
Liam Lawson 36 points
Esteban Ocon 32 points
Lance Stroll 32 points
Yuki Tsunoda 28 points
Pierre Gasly 22 points
Gabriel Bortoleto 19 points
Franco Colapinto 0 points
Jack Doohan 0 points

Constructors' Championship Standings:

McLaren 756 points
Mercedes 431 points
Red Bull 391 points
Ferrari 378 points
Williams 121 points
VCARB 90 points
Haas 73 points
Aston Martin 72 points
Kick Sauber 68 points
Alpine 22 points

Standings were found at F1.com.

Winner: Kimi Antonelli

Though he did start the race in P17, you could not have asked for a better weekend from Kimi Antonelli if you're Mercedes. The horrific conditions affected multiple drivers, Antonelli included, but he bounced back in just about the best way possible. Going 48 LAPS, yes you read that right, 48 of the 50 laps, on one set of Hard tires is incredible in itself. Combine that with the fact he received a 5-second penalty for a false start, yet still was able to put a 5-second gap to Charles Leclerc in 6th place was simply remarkable. If this is the kind of performance Antonelli is going to produce in the future, watch out F1, this kid is legit.

Loser: Liam Lawson

Liam Lawson has been extremely solid the past few weekends, showing why he still deserves a seat in the sport. However, after qualifying above his teammate in 6th, his weekend was ruined after a collision with Oscar Piastri and damage to his front wing. This was a big opportunity for Lawson to show he can compete with Hadjar, but yet he again got in his own way. So, though it may not be a catastrophic weekend for Liam, it will still be left as a big "what-if?" sort of weekend for the VCARB driver.

Winner: Haas

Haas finally was able to get both drivers within the same realm of pace during the race, which has not been a common theme in a very long time. Ocon did a great job staying out on his first stint of tires, while Bearman did the best with the situation he put himself in. Overall, Haas will take any points they can get, but a double-points finish is more than enough to take Vegas as a win.

Loser: Alex Albon

Similar to Liam Lawson, Alex Albon failed to put together a weekend in which their car was performing effectively. He did not look nearly as quick as his teammate Carlos Sainz in qualifying and pitted a total of 4 times before retiring from the race. Sure, it was not all his fault, as the pit crew forgot to replace his front wing during one of his pit stops, but Albon put himself in a position he should not have been a part of in the first place. He is doing the thing again where the first half of the season is dominant, but in the last stretch of races, he gets outperformed by his teammate to a crazy extent. Not a great weekend to say the least for Albon.

Winner: Max Verstappen

This, of course, may seem obvious, but Max Verstappen is easily the biggest winner of the weekend. He survived the start with flying colors, passing Norris in his attempt to fend Max off, and never looked back from there. He looked quick all weekend long, and never really faltered after he gained the lead on lap 1. Of course, there are other reasons to consider when discussing how he is a winner, but I am going to save that for who I believe is the biggest loser of the weekend. Overall, a fantastic weekend for Max once again, who is doing absolutely everything within his power to keep his championship hopes alive.

Loser: McLaren

Well... this is bad.

To clarify, the race performance of McLaren is not why they are the biggest losers of the weekend; it is the news that arose after the conclusion of the Grand Prix.

For those who do not know, both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix after their cars violated the skid block requirement policy. Basically, the rear skid block on the bottom of each of their cars was below the minimum 9mm requirement in terms of thickness. With Norris' at 8.93 and Piastri's at 8.74, this was a slam dunk of a disqualification ruling for the FIA.

I mean, just when we thought the championship was over, McLaren found yet another way to shoot themselves in the foot and hand Max Verstappen a free 25 points on a silver platter. Verstappen is now tied with Oscar Piastri and within a race win amount of points (24) behind Lando Norris. This is quite literally the worst-case scenario if you are McLaren.

Granted, Lando could still come 2nd to Max Verstappen in the rest of the Grand Prix/Sprint races and still win the championship, but that is not a given. Anything can happen in this sport, with one mistake costing you everything. With this costly and inexcusable mistake, McLaren has left their drivers with absolutely zero room for error here on out, which puts an immense amount of pressure on two young drivers who are experiencing this situation for the very first time. Time will tell what will happen as a result of this, but for now, this was a serious blunder of a weekend from McLaren.