'The tyre just started to open up and then you lose a lot of grip. 'I think the Hard tyre was just a bit more robust against the graining, because that was my problem on the Medium. 'We pitted again for the second set of Hard tyres and then it was very fun,' Verstappen told media, including RacingNews365.
The Dutchman was back in the game after being issued with a five-second time penalty for his robust move on Leclerc into Turn 1 at the start, and was now in the lucrative place of having track position and fresh tyres to attack Leclerc. Verstappen also pitted for fresh tyres and rejoined in fifth behind Oscar Piastri and Pierre Gasly, with him separated from Leclerc by two seconds. Sergio Perez benefitted the most from the intervention, as it enabled him to pit from the lead and emerge behind Leclerc who elected not to pit. The Ferrari driver had already made his pit stop three laps prior, and was now faced with a Safety Car due to debris on track as a result of the contact between Russell and Verstappen.
When George Russell collided with Max Verstappen 26 laps into the Las Vegas Grand Prix, it sealed the fate of Charles Leclerc's chances of victory.
