‘A big motivational boost’ – Verstappen hails ‘amazing’ end to 2025 as crucial Vegas victory boosts title chances

Max Verstappen is taking motivation from a strong end to the 2025 Formula 1 campaign, after victory in the Las Vegas Grand Prix added fuel to his title push.

Verstappen's chances of securing a fifth consecutive title has looked unlikely for much of the season, but a surge in the second half of the campaign has thrust him back into contention, with a dominant victory on the iconic Las Vegas streets his latest triumph.

Although the result initially left him 42 points back on Lando Norris – who took the flag in second – post-race disqualifications for both McLaren drivers for excessive skid wear reduced this gap to 24 points, less than a single race win, with the Red Bull man also now level with Oscar Piastri on 366 points.

Speaking before news of the investigation broke, Verstappen – when asked why he looked so happy celebrating this particular victory – said of his latest success: “It’s because they don’t come as easy as ’23. In ’23, it was more like ticking boxes. Now, it’s not like that, and we’ve come from a very tough period already last year.

"This year has been annoying at some stages as well. Everyone was not happy with the performances, and to still have this kind of end to the season is for us, amazing. You need to enjoy that because it’s a big motivational boost to everyone, and that’s the same for me.”

Verstappen now sits third in the Drivers’ Standings, level on points with Piastri but behind on countback of race wins – the Australian on seven to Verstappen’s six.

Verstappen's domination in Las Vegas saw him cross the line 20 seconds clear of the field, having taken the lead at the first corner when polesitter Norris broke too late and ran wide.

Reflecting on his controlled performance, he added: “Yeah, it was good. Of course, with practice not really knowing what the tyres were going to do, even in the race, I think everyone was just trying to find a rhythm and see how much you could push, especially in the first stint because being on the more fragile tyre.

“It worked really well. Normally, the race is always a tough one for us – we are normally not that great on tyres, but today it seemed like we had that a little bit more under control, and I could push a little bit more, and that unlocked a bit more pace. I could stay out a bit longer and split basically the race in half.

“It definitely helped a lot, and the car was working pretty well, much more to my liking, and it was at the end quite a decent gap. It was just every lap feeling comfortable and not taking too much out of the tyre.”