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

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

Norris currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

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

The Australian driver, so impressive in the opening stages of the season, has failed to finish on the podium for six consecutive events

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

"It's still a positive outcome to secure second. I've got to praise Max and his team"

Following Qatar, the last event of the championship follows in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

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

• Lando Norris maintained his momentum towards the title losing the win to Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's difficult performance streak persisted as his championship chances diminish

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

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for tenth place following starting at the rear

From the beginning, Lando Norris was faithful to his claim that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his advantage from starting first from Verstappen

However after an aggressive cut in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Dutchman's attack on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking point and went too deep into the turn

That enabled Max Verstappen to overtake into the lead while Norris also second place to Russell

During two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, featuring at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event

George Russell made an early tire change for the more durable compound, but Lando Norris and Verstappen stayed out

The McLaren driver pitted five laps following the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

Verstappen was could return still in the lead, Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull car despite his newer rubber

Norris returned after George 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 driver and overtook into runner-up position on lap 34

Norris inquired his engineer how to run the remainder of his event, effectively questioning whether he should accept second place or attack

He was instructed to "chase down Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Verstappen was readily able to repel Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the margin extended significantly as the McLaren car began to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far remained unidentified

Even with dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was could hold off George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the championship - just one less than both McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at least theoretically, even if he requires problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It's still a big gap, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've got," Verstappen said

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

Piastri started in fifth but dropped two places on the opening lap after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon eliminated of the battle by a damaged front wing

He trailed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but also out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could repass during the pit-stop period

Piastri finished after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the whole event on hard tyres following pitting during the initial VSC, but was given a five-second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It was a disappointing race from essentially beginning to end in some ways," Oscar Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Just try to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need several of things to go my way now to take the title, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if something happens"

Leclerc held on in sixth place, insufficiently close to gain from Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh place at the finish, his Williams missing the pace to compete with the top teams in the dry, following his heroic showing to qualify third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time champion executed a flying start, rising to thirteenth on the opening circuit and continued to move forwards

He became trapped in a DRS train with a bunch of other cars but was able to use his strong beginning to rescue a point following the poorest qualifying performance of his career