Breaking: Max Verstappen comes out victorious in Las Vegas Grand Prix most fiercely competitive race of the season.

Max Verstappen, a Red Bull driver from the Netherlands, competes in the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 18 in Las Vegas.

From the first minute he set foot in Sin City, Max Verstappen detested everything about the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The three-time world champion of Formula One thought the extravagance and extravagance were excessive and took precedence over the racing itself.

After winning his eighteenth game of the season, he practically altered his attitude.

“Happy Las Vegas!” Verstappen hoisted Justin Bieber’s checkered flag and exclaimed, “Viva Las Vegas!” Despite his criticism of Saturday night’s show at every opportunity, Verstappen raced in a firesuit reminiscent of Elvis Presley and won on the renowned Las Vegas Strip.

We certainly had fun, so I hope everyone else did too. “I’m eager to return here the following year and attempt to accomplish something similar,” Verstappen, who had dramatically changed his stance over the week on the Las Vegas show, stated.

The race was enjoyable. He admitted, “It was enjoyable.

Verstappen continued his dominant season by passing Charles Leclerc at the start and again with 13 laps to go after overcoming a penalty. After being driven in a limousine to a stage close to the Bellagio, Verstappen, Leclerc, and Sergio Perez said to his fellow podium finishers that “we go straight to the nightclub.” However, what awaited them was the renowned fountain display at the casino.

As part of the victory celebration, the Bellagio fountains had been turned off for the entire week and then restarted. As they stood talking, none of the participants showed the slightest sign of interest. They were treated to a fireworks display over the Strip akin to New Year’s Eve following the presentation of their awards.

After that, Martin Garrix gave a pulsating DJ performance to thrill the people who had cracked open their wallets for the season’s priciest spectator race. Celebrities appeared to be enjoying the spectacle as they danced along on the grid. Brad Pitt, Rihanna, Usain Bolt, and Shaquille O’Neal were among the celebrities in attendance. According to F1, the event attracted over 315,000 spectators over the course of the weekend, with an estimated $1.2 billion in economic benefit to Las Vegas.

“It was painful for me to see the sport I love so much start so wrong on Thursday, but I really enjoyed it and I’m glad we ended the weekend on a positive note,” Leclerc remarked. “It’s all better because we had a fantastic race.”

The race, which was sponsored by F1 and its owner Liberty Media, was the third stop in the United States this season—more than in any other nation. However, Verstappen in particular has attacked the event for emphasizing its transformation into a neon fiesta.

The 21st race of the season featured expensive tickets, hotels along the renowned Strip raised their rates, and a lot of celebrities, musical acts, and Elvis impersonators roamed the paddock, which included a wedding chapel where former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve was married earlier in the week. All of this overshadowed the sporting aspect of the race.

Nine minutes into the first practice session on Thursday night, Carlos Sainz Jr. ran over a water drain valve cover on the track, severely damaging his Ferrari, and F1 had to close the 6.2-kilometer circuit for inspection. Liberty had expected to spend $500 million on the first grand prix it self-promoted, but there was talk in the paddock before the race that Liberty had gone well over budget.

After only nine minutes of track action, fans were compelled to depart around 1:30 a.m. on Friday. Instead of apologizing, F1 merely issued $200 credits to the LVGP goods store to any ticket holders who had only purchased Thursday access for the second practice, which began at 2:30 a.m. and ended at 4 a.m. On Friday, the Las Vegas Grand Prix was the target of a class-action lawsuit.

Even though Verstappen won for the sixth time in a row, the race on Saturday night was one of the most competitive of the season, therefore it was imperative for Formula One to provide a strong performance. A track that had been compared to a “flying pig” due to its arrangement was also commended for its raciness.

Mercedes’ seventh-place finisher and seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton claimed the track “provided a better race than most of the tracks we go to.”

Williams is the lone American driver in Formula One. Logan Sargeant of Williams commented, “I don’t think the music stopped this entire weekend in the paddock.”

Leclerc and teammate Sainz had qualified 1-2 on Friday, but Sainz’s car was required to be changed by Ferrari after it impacted the drain cover, costing him ten positions on the starting row. Verstappen moved up to second for the start as a result, and he attacked right away.

With 17 laps to go, Leclerc passed Perez for the lead, and three laps later, Verstappen passed his teammate to take second. The two then worked to create a tow that allowed Verstappen to catch Leclerc for the win with 13 laps remaining.

Perez had worked his way past Leclerc for second but Leclerc grabbed it back at the finish to deny Red Bull its seventh 1-2 finish of the season. The Dutchman forced Leclerc off track to take the lead, and despite Leclerc’s demands that Verstappen be forced to give the position back, Verstappen was only awarded a five-second penalty. Verstappen served it during a later pit stop.

“I loved it so much. Second place with lots of fights. It’s the best race for the first race in Vegas,” Leclerc said. Perez secured second place behind Verstappen in the season driver standings with Hamilton finishing seventh. Leclerc’s finish helped Ferrari close the gap with Mercedes for second place in the constructor championship going into next week’s Abu Dhabi finale.

Lando Norris of McLaren was involved in an early accident and was taken to a local hospital for precautionary measures. He was released shortly after the fireworks show.