Max Verstappen knows he will need more good fortune to overturn Lando Norris' lead in the Formula One Drivers' Championship, having benefitted from McLaren's double disqualification at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Starting second on the grid, Verstappen overhauled pole-sitter Norris on the first turn and eased to a comfortable victory, and there was more good news to follow for Red Bull.

Both Norris and his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri were disqualified due to excessive skid-block wear taking their cars below the minimum thickness required.

With their respective finishes of second and fourth wiped out, the title permutations now look a tad more encouraging for Red Bull.

Verstappen sits joint-second in the drivers' standings, level with Piastri on 266 points. Norris is 24 points clear, but there are 58 points up for grabs across the final two weeks of the season, in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

"It depends a lot on how our car will perform in Qatar and Abu Dhabi," Verstappen said when asked about his title hopes. "Abu Dhabi is a very good McLaren track, but we'll see.

"It's a very, very big gap. It's also not something that will be easily overturned. We need a bit of luck for that, but we can still win races, and we'll try."

Verstappen is the only driver on the grid to make the podium at all eight races since F1's summer break, with that run boosting his hopes of a record-equalling fifth consecutive drivers' title.

Jackpot secured #F1 || #LasVegasGP  pic.twitter.com/dFvdzsUmnA

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) November 23, 2025

"Normally this race is a tough one for us," the Dutchman continued. "We are normally not that great on tyres, but today it seemed like we had it a bit more under control and I could push a little bit more. 

"That unlocked a little more pace, and I could stay out a little bit longer and split the race in half. That helped a lot. 

"The car was working well and much more to my liking. In the end it was quite a decent gap."

Next weekend's Qatar Grand Prix is a sprint weekend, and Norris will still clinch the title if he gains two points on both Piastri and Verstappen over the course of the event.

But should Verstappen claim the maximum 33 points on offer next week, he will tee up a grandstand season finale in Abu Dhabi – where he memorably overtook Lewis Hamilton on the final lap to win his first crown in 2021.