Verstappen bristles at ‘it’s the car’ line after ruthless Las Vegas takedown
Max Verstappen didn’t just win in Las Vegas — he flattened the field. Twenty-one seconds to the good at the flag, title hopes still breathing, and the Strip belonged to the Dutchman again. But if anyone thought that kind of margin would soften his mood in the TV pen, they misread the room.
The race turned on the opening dash. Lando Norris, on pole and elbows out, tried to pinch Verstappen toward the wall and overcooked it into Turn 1. Norris sailed wide; Verstappen slipped through. That was the moment. From there, the Red Bull eased out of reach. George Russell hung on for a while before falling out of DRS, and when Norris recovered to second around lap 35, Verstappen already had the thing on a string.
Fifteen laps later, it was done — 21 seconds on the road to the McLaren, which was later disqualified for a skid block infringement. Make of that what you will; the point is Verstappen had the pace to disappear long before the stewards got involved. It was his fourth win in seven races, and it slashed his deficit in the standings to 24 points with 58 still on the table.
That stat framed the conversation when Sky Sports’ Rachel Brookes asked whether “this car” has enough to finish the job over the final two rounds. Verstappen, all dry humor and needle, met the premise head-on.
“Yeah, it’s all about the car,” he deadpanned, the smile doing a lot of the heavy lifting.
Brookes pushed back, clarifying she’d said he’d been good. Verstappen’s reply — a clipped, non-committal “yeah” — told its own story. For a driver who prides himself on execution under pressure, being reduced to “the car” was never going to land smoothly, even on a night when the RB kept its nose clean and its tyres intact while others fell away.
If the exchange felt frosty, it wasn’t new. The pair had already shared a spiky TV-pen moment in Spain, after a bruising late safety car turned Verstappen’s podium chase into a penalty-laced headache. With rivals bolting on fresh softs, he lost out to Charles Leclerc, then tangled with George Russell in the final chicane. Red Bull told him to hand the place back; he backed off at Turn 5 and, in a flash of temper, appeared to drive into Russell. A 10-second penalty followed, along with a terse back-and-forth on camera.
Brookes suggested moves like his Imola pass on Oscar Piastri showed the best of him — and that the Barcelona flashpoint “took the shine off.” Verstappen’s shrugging “Is it?” and the cool “OK, well that’s your opinion” response summed up the mood. There’s a reason the reigning champion keeps a short leash for narratives he doesn’t buy.
Back in Vegas, though, the narrative was straightforward: Verstappen had the legs on everyone. He controlled the restart rhythms, managed deg, and had time in hand whenever Norris closed the lens. McLaren even told Lando to “come and get him” at one stage. Verstappen laughed that off on the radio — and then on the stopwatch.
So, is it the car? Red Bull’s a sharper tool now than it was in the spring, no question. Set-up windows are less fussy; the team’s operational polish is back. But there’s more to the 21 seconds than hardware. This was Verstappen in his comfort zone: seizing an opening at Turn 1, draining oxygen from a fight, and making a tricky night look routine. You can’t engineer that instinct.
What matters next is that 24-point gap. With two rounds left and 58 still at stake, the door isn’t exactly wide open — but it’s not shut either. Momentum’s a funny thing in this sport; challenge it and you can get burned. Verstappen’s found it again just in time, and if he keeps driving like this, he won’t need to debate whether it’s him or the RB doing the heavy lifting. The scoreboard will answer for him.
For Norris and McLaren, the DSQ stings, but the bigger bruise is psychological. Push too hard at Turn 1, leave the door ajar, and Verstappen won’t just go through it — he’ll lock it behind him. Las Vegas was a reminder of that old truth, lit by neon and settled at full chat.
Final word? Ask Verstappen if the car’s got enough for the last two tracks and you’ll get that wry smile again. Ask if he’s got enough, and on nights like this, the answer’s already in the mirror.
