The 2025 F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix ended in controversy, with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri thrown out for excessive plank wear on their McLarens.
Ahead of them on the road, Max Verstappen put together an assured and measured performance to take the chequered flag with ease.
There were implications in both championships after the double disqualification, and the ramifications could be far-reaching — even for teams with no involvement in the critical error with the MCL39s.
So, who has made the RacingNews365 list of winners and losers for the 2025 F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix?
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Winner - Oscar Piastri
Hear me out.
Piastri was again a shade slower than Norris in Sin City, but their joint disqualification from the results cannot be seen as anything other than a net gain for the Australian.
He looked poised to fall 30 points behind his team-mate, having come home fourth with the Briton in second, but their exclusion wiped the slate clean.
As far as Piastri is concerned, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, and he leaves how he arrived, at 24 points adrift.
And if he is to somehow find a way to drag himself back into realistic contention by the time the paddock reaches Abu Dhabi, that six-point swing could prove decisive.
The counterpoint is that Verstappen is now level on points, not 10 back, and looks increasingly likely to usurp Piastri for second in the standings.
But, even in the form the 24-year-old finds himself in, you've got to look forward, not backwards, when fighting for an F1 drivers' title.
Loser - McLaren
Arguably, I could write 'Posted without comment' or 'Need I say more?' and leave it at that. What happened is well-trodden ground, already.
However, it is still worth pointing out how vulnerable the double disqualification leaves Norris — and by extension, McLaren.
If he, or Piastri, somehow fails to win the crown and Verstappen prevails in the high-stakes, high-pressure cauldron that will be the final two legs of the season-ending triple header, then McLaren will have a lot of explaining to do.
The British driver should still be able to outlast both his title rivals and save his team its blushes, but there is no other way to paint the situation in Nevada than anything other than a calamitous error.
A mistake of this magnitude invites so much unnecessary and unwanted pressure, and it is in exactly these kinds of scenarios that freak occurrences can... well, occur.
The maths remains in Norris' favour, undoubtedly. But Verstappen is the only one of the three who has experienced the kind of pressure that awaits.
Not to mention the fact that Piastri finishing third in what appeared to be a two-horse race is not a good look for team or driver, either.
Winner - Max Verstappen
Another fairly obvious pick. The four-time F1 drivers' champion yet again proved why he is just that, taking his second victory at an event he loves oh, so much.
He pounced on Norris' mistake at the start, and from soon after, it felt like a foregone conclusion.
But it is McLaren's double disqualification that really makes Verstappen a winner from Sin City.
Suddenly, he is within striking distance. Not only is he on equal points with Piastri heading into the final two rounds, but if Norris suffers more bad luck or misfortune in Qatar, he could actually head to the finale leading the championship.
The odds are still stacked against him, make no mistake, but the door is ajar. He has the opportunity, and that is all the Red Bull driver needs.
If you were to bet on anyone on the grid to capitalise on McLaren's gift, it would be the Dutchman.
Loser - Aston Martin
It wasn't a great weekend for Aston Martin, despite both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll looking quick over one lap in the treacherous conditions of qualifying.
However, the intermediate tyre gamble in Q2 scuppered the latter's hopes, and he was quickly torpedoed in the grand prix by a missile in the shape of Gabriel Bortoleto's Stake.
The former fared better, qualifying seventh. But he, too, was caught up in the first corner chaos, making contact with the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
He appeared to avoid sustaining damage, but lost positions and did not have the pace to recover, falling to P13 by the flag.
And then post-race, as it became apparent that CEO and team principal Andy Cowell is set to be relieved of his duties, McLaren's disqualification dropped the Silverstone-based squad down to eighth in the constructors' standings.
Isack Hadjar had already scored good points, but his promotion to sixth leaves Aston Martin 18 points behind Racing Bulls.
Alonso was only elevated as far as P11, but with Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman earning Haas three points, having originally finished P11 and P12, the American team moves up to seventh in the standings, one point ahead.
Winner - Kimi Antonelli
Despite a difficult qualifying session in very difficult conditions — which saw him start P17 — and a five-second time penalty, Kimi Antonelli picked up a second consecutive podium finish.
It was a magnificent display to drag himself up the order, making a set of hard compound tyres last for 48 of the 50 laps, having come in early to rid himself of the red-walled softs he started on.
His third podium of his debut F1 season was, of course, a consequence of McLaren's double disqualification, but he still finished fourth on the road before being dropped to fifth at the flag as his punishment was served.
It was a harsh penalty, but the rules are the rules. Nonetheless, his tyre-whispering exploits and superb defence on Piastri were exceptional.
The young Italian is really starting to come into his own, especially now that the European leg of the campaign is behind him.
Mercedes team principal said on Sunday evening that he expected moments that would make you "want to tear your hair out", but that he also anticipated moments of "brilliance" from the 19-year-old. This was much more the latter than the former.
Loser - Ferrari
Ferrari is now 53 points behind Mercedes in the fight for second in the constructors' championship. Even Red Bull, in third, is now 13 points ahead.
It was another underwhelming weekend in Las Vegas for the Scuderia. Team boss Fred Vasseur handled it well in his post-race media session, but qualifying was miserable, and the race was not a whole lot better, despite Leclerc moving through the order well.
But no matter how the Italian team tries to spin it, ninth and P20 on the grid is not good enough for a grid-setting session, and the Monegasque driver questioned the Maranello-based squad's performance in wet conditions.
Lewis Hamilton was in another crestfallen mood, labelling 2025 the "worst" season of his F1 career. Statistically, it is.
Vasseur called on the seven-time F1 drivers' champion to calm down his comments in the media pen, saying they are always too much and that those remarks should happen in the debrief.
He did, however, underline that he does not blame the drivers for their words and that he'd be more concerned if they were not frustrated. But Ferrari is a team lost at sea; Vegas yet again proved that.
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