Norris Edges Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Claims Vegas F1 Race Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped nearer to a maiden world title with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth after the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

Norris will secure the title in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender over five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so strong in the first half of the season, has failed to finish on the podium for six consecutive events

"Max had a strong performance. I erred at the beginning and was too punchy on that opening corner," said Norris

"It's still a good result to get second place. I've got to congratulate Max and Red Bull"

After Qatar, the last event of the season takes place in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

The key stories of among Formula 1's most prestigious races were:

• Norris continued his momentum towards the title losing the win to Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's difficult performance streak persisted as his title hopes diminish

• A superb win for Max Verstappen to keep him in the championship battle

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for tenth place following beginning at the rear

At the start, Norris was true to his claim that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he fought hard to defend his lead from starting first from Verstappen

But after an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Dutchman's challenge on the inner line, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking zone and went too deep into the corner

This allowed Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while Norris also the runner-up spot to Russell

During two VSC periods for some early incidents, featuring at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Verstappen gradually established dominance on the event

George Russell made an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen remained on track

The McLaren driver pitted five circuits following the Mercedes driver and Verstappen ten laps later

The Red Bull driver was able to return still in the lead, George Russell having been unable to close in on the Red Bull even with his fresher tyres

Lando Norris rejoined behind George Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tyres to warm up, soon reduced his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes driver and overtook into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver asked his race engineer how to run the remainder of his event, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second place or challenge for the lead

He was told to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Max Verstappen was readily could repel Lando's attacks, and in the final laps the gap extended substantially as the McLaren car began to suffer a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was able to hold off George Russell because of the size of the advantage he had built while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the season - only one less than both McLaren teammates - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at least theoretically, even if he needs problems for Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It's still a significant margin, we always try to maximise everything we've have," Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will try to win the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Piastri started in fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit following being clouted by Lawson, who was soon eliminated of contention by a broken front wing

He trailed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before overtaking him on the Strip but also position to Charles Leclerc, who he was able to overtake again during the tire change phase

The Australian finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the entire race on hard tyres after pitting during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a start-line violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It proved to be a disappointing event from pretty much start to finish in some ways," Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Simply attempt to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously require several of factors to favor me now to win, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to capitalise if circumstances change"

Leclerc hung on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the flag, his Williams missing the pace to challenge with the top teams in the dry conditions, after his impressive performance to start in third in the wet weather

Hadjar secured eighth place before Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion made a flying start, rising to 13th on the first lap and proceeded to advance positions

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a group of other cars but was able to employ his electric start to salvage a championship point after the worst qualifying session of his racing life