Lando Norris Edges Nearer to Championship as Verstappen Secures Vegas F1 Race Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped closer to a maiden championship with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

Norris currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

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

Piastri, so strong in the opening stages of the season, has not finished on the podium for six consecutive events

"Verstappen had a good race. I erred at the beginning and was too punchy on that opening corner," said Norris

"It remains a positive outcome to get second place. I've got to congratulate Max and his team"

After Qatar, the final race of the championship follows in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

The main developments of one of Formula 1's most prestigious races included:

• Norris continued his progress towards the title despite the victory to Verstappen

• Piastri's difficult run of form continued as his championship chances diminish

• A superb win for Max Verstappen to maintain him in the title fight

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for 10th following starting at the rear

At the start, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here not to take risks" as he fought hard to protect his advantage from pole position from Verstappen

But following an forceful move in front of Verstappen to block the Verstappen's attack on the inner line, Norris miscalculated his braking zone and went too deep into the corner

That enabled Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while Norris also the runner-up spot to George Russell

During two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, including at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event

George Russell made an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Norris and Verstappen stayed out

Norris pitted five circuits after the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was could return still in the lead, Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull even with his fresher tyres

Norris rejoined after Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tyres to warm up, soon closed his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes and overtook into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris asked his engineer how to run the rest of his race, 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 little opportunity. Max Verstappen was readily able to defend against Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the gap extended substantially as the McLaren car started to experience a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Even with dropping almost three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was could defend against George Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had established while pursuing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - only one behind the two McLaren teammates - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, although he needs problems for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It's still a significant margin, we always try to optimize all we've have," Max Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will attempt to take victory in the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Oscar Piastri began fifth but lost two places on the first circuit following being clouted by Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of the battle by a broken front wing

He trailed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the Strip but lost position to Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the tire change phase

Piastri finished after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the whole event on hard tyres after pitting during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It proved to be a frustrating event from pretty much start to finish in some ways," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Asked about how he would approach the final two races, he said: "Simply try to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously require several of factors to go my way at this stage to take the title, but my only option is make myself in the best position to capitalise if circumstances change"

Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams car lacking the pace to compete with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, following his impressive performance to start third in the wet weather

Isack Hadjar took eighth before Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time title winner executed a flying start, rising to thirteenth on the first lap and proceeded to advance positions

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a bunch of other cars but was able to use his electric start to rescue a point following the worst qualifying session of his racing life