LAS VEGAS (AP) Max Verstappen won for the second time in four races and the four-time reigning Formula 1 champion continued to claw his way back into title picture with a Saturday night victory at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

It is the second time in three years the Dutchman has won on the streets of Las Vegas that utilizes a part of the famed Strip. He won the inaugural race in 2023 and clinched his fourth consecutive title here last year.

Now he has another win at an event he despised ahead of its debut because of the bright spotlight promoters placed on celebrities and parties instead of the actual competition. But when it comes time to get in the car, no matter how Verstappen feels about the event, he seems to excel.

Simply lovely, Verstappen said on his Red Bull team radio.

He then rushed into the arms of his waiting Red Bull crew as the skyline was illuminated by a spectacular New Years Eve-style fireworks display.

Verstappen then took a victory lap in a pink Cadillac made of Legos driven by actor Terry Crews, who is an ambassador for the Cadillac F1 team that will debut next year.

It was the 69th victory of Verstappens career.

I have to stay at 69 or go to 169 because it is actually quite a cool number, he said on one of the two victory podiums located outside the fountains of the Bellagio casino.

Verstappen started second but took control of the race in the very first turn when current points leader Lando Norris made an aggressive move to cut in front of him at the start but wound up sliding wide of the turn in his McLaren. Verstappen moved to the lead and George Russell darted past Norris into second.

I made the mistake in Turn 1, that cost me, Norris said. Sometimes a good result is second and scoring some points.

Norris found himself stuck back in third, and teammate Oscar Piastri fared no better as the Australian lost two spots on the start to drop from fifth to seventh. The two McLaren drivers have swapped the lead in the driver standings all season and Norris held a 24-point lead over Piastri at the start, while Verstappen was 49 points back.

Norris finished second and Russell was third, and with two races remaining on the year Norris lead is 30 points over Piastri and Verstappen trimmed his deficit to 42 points.

Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes crossed the finish line in fourth but a penalty dropped him a spot to fifth, which moved Piastri to fourth.

The biggest mover of the race was seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who qualified 20th in Ferraris first last-place qualifying result since 2009. He actually started 19th and immediately gained six spots. Hamilton steadily picked his way through the field and finished 10th.

For Verstappen, it was his eighth consecutive podium and he beat Norris by nearly 20 seconds.

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AP auto racing:

拉斯维加斯（美联社）——马克斯·维斯塔潘在四站比赛中第二次夺冠，这位四届F1卫冕冠军凭借周六晚在拉斯维加斯大奖赛的胜利，继续向总冠军宝座发起冲击。

这是这位荷兰车手三年内第二次在拉斯维加斯街道赛夺冠，该赛道部分路段位于著名的拉斯维加斯大道上。他曾在2023年赢得该项赛事首届冠军，并于去年在此斩获四连冠。

如今，他又在一项赛事中夺冠——尽管这项赛事首秀前曾因主办方过分聚焦名流派对而非竞技本身而遭到他的鄙夷。但一旦坐进赛车，无论维斯塔潘对赛事有何看法，他总能展现出卓越实力。

“简直太棒了，”维斯塔潘通过红牛车队无线电说道。

随后，他冲向等待他的红牛车队成员，与他们紧紧相拥。此时，天际线被一场壮观的新年前夜式烟花表演点亮。

随后，维斯塔潘乘坐一辆由乐高积木拼成的粉色凯迪拉克跑车进行胜利巡游，该车由演员特里·克鲁斯驾驶。克鲁斯是即将于明年首次亮相的凯迪拉克F1车队的大使。

这是维斯塔潘职业生涯的第69场胜利。

“我必须保持在69或选择169，因为这个数字确实很酷，”他在百乐宫赌场喷泉外的两座领奖台之一上说道。

维斯塔潘起步时位列第二，但在第一个弯道便掌控了比赛局面——当时积分榜领跑者兰多·诺里斯发车时试图激进地切入他前方，却导致其迈凯伦赛车在过弯时冲出赛道。维斯塔潘顺势取得领先，而乔治·拉塞尔则迅速超越诺里斯升至第二位。

诺里斯表示："我在一号弯犯了错，这让我付出了代价。有时候，获得第二名并拿到一些积分也是不错的结果。"

诺里斯发现自己被困在第三位，而他的队友奥斯卡·皮亚斯特里同样表现不佳，这位澳大利亚车手在发车时连丢两个位置，从第五滑落至第七。两位迈凯伦车手整个赛季都在车手积分榜上交替领先，开赛时诺里斯以24分的优势领先皮亚斯特里，而维斯塔潘则落后49分。

诺里斯获得第二名，拉塞尔位列第三。在本赛季剩余两站比赛的情况下，诺里斯领先皮亚斯特里30分，而维斯塔潘将其积分差距缩小至42分。

梅赛德斯车队的基米·安东内利（Kimi Antonelli）以第四名冲过终点线，但因受罚后退一位至第五名，这使得皮亚斯特里（Piastri）升至第四位。

本场比赛进步最大的当属七届世界冠军刘易斯·汉密尔顿。他在排位赛中仅列第20名，这也是法拉利车队自2009年以来首次在排位赛中垫底。正赛时，汉密尔顿实际从第19位发车，起步便连超六车。此后他稳扎稳打，最终以第10名完赛。

维斯塔潘（Verstappen）连续第八次登上领奖台，并以近20秒的优势击败了诺里斯（Norris）。

美联社赛车新闻：