Norris Advances Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Takes Vegas F1 Race Win

McLaren's Lando Norris moved nearer to his first world title with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

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

The Briton will secure the championship in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

Piastri, so impressive in the opening stages of the season, has failed to finish on the top three for six races

"Verstappen had a good race. I erred early on and was overly aggressive on that first turn," stated Norris

"It's still a good result to get second. I've got to praise Max and his team"

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

The key stories of among Formula 1's most high-profile races were:

• Lando Norris continued his momentum towards the championship despite the win to Verstappen

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

• A excellent win for Max Verstappen to maintain him in the championship battle

• Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, following a difficult qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton securing a point for tenth place after beginning at the back

At the start, Lando Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his lead from starting first from Verstappen

But after an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to block the Dutchman's attack on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking point and went too deep into the corner

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

Through two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly established dominance on the race

George Russell made an early pit stop for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen stayed out

Norris pitted five circuits following the Mercedes and Verstappen ten laps later

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

Norris rejoined after Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to let his tires to settle, soon reduced his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into runner-up position on lap 34

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

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was readily could repel Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the gap increased significantly as the McLaren started to experience a technical issue which has thus far not been defined

Despite losing 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 Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the season - only one less than both McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and keeps him in title contention, at minimum mathematically, even if he needs problems for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It's still a big gap, we consistently attempt to optimize everything we've have," Max Verstappen stated

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to take victory in the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

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

He followed Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but also out to Charles Leclerc, who he was able to overtake again during the pit-stop period

The Australian finished after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the entire race on hard tyres after stopping during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It proved to be a disappointing race from pretty much beginning to end in some ways," Piastri told race broadcasters

Asked about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Just try to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously require several of factors to go my way now to win, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if circumstances change"

Leclerc hung on in sixth position, insufficiently close to benefit from Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams car lacking the pace to compete with the leading outfits in the dry, after his heroic showing to start third in the wet

Hadjar took eighth ahead of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time title winner made a strong getaway, rising to 13th on the first lap and proceeded to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of other cars but was could use his electric start to salvage a championship point after the poorest qualifying session of his racing life