NOVEMBER 20, 2025

Verstappen still has a chance in flooded Vegas

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali insists Max Verstappen remains a genuine title contender - even as the Dutchman arrives in Las Vegas facing the possibility of mathematical elimination.

Unseasonal storms hit the city on Wednesday, with the National Weather Service reporting around 20mm of rain across the area and up to 10mm falling in some parts within half an hour.

Floodwater briefly covered parts of the Strip and the circuit infrastructure. According to Bild, officials are confident the situation will stabilise.

Formula 1 officials aren't worried yet, the German outlet reported from the scene, adding that Domenicali and his team expect Saturday's 8pm night race to go ahead as planned and remain a highlight with cars speeding through the sea of lights.

Despite Verstappen trailing both McLaren drivers and at risk of losing title eligibility this weekend, Domenicali told De Telegraaf the championship fight is not over.

If the history of this sport has shown anything, it is that anything is possible, he said. I absolutely think Max still has a chance of winning the world title. I told him that after the race in Brazil.

There are still three races to go, plus a sprint race. There are still plenty of points available. If I didn't believe it was possible, I wouldn't have said it to him.

The Italian cited 2007 - when he was Ferrari's sporting director - as proof.

We were far behind with Kimi Raikkonen compared to Lewis Hamilton with two races to go. In China, Lewis went off in the pitlane, remember? Nobody thought something like that could happen, and eventually Kimi became champion by one point.

He believes similarly crazy things can still unfold this season, particularly on a street circuit like Las Vegas.

Another factor in Verstappen's favour is McLaren's poor performance at last year's Vegas race. Team boss Andrea Stella said lessons had been learned.

Analysing last year's performance gave us a lot of information, he said. "In terms of tyres, aerodynamic efficiency and setup, we now understand the direction we need to go.

Will this be enough to remain competitive? We'll only see on the track, but we've definitely taken decisive measures - last year was clearly insufficient.

(GMM)