Norris Edges Nearer to Championship as Max Verstappen Secures Vegas Grand Prix Win

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

The British driver currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

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

The Australian driver, so impressive in the first half of the season, has failed to finish on the podium for six races

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

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

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:

• Norris continued his momentum towards the championship losing the win to Max Verstappen

• Piastri's difficult performance streak continued as his title hopes wane

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

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for 10th after beginning at the back

From the beginning, Lando Norris was true to his statement that he was "not here not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to protect his lead from pole position from Max Verstappen

But following an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to block the Dutchman's attack on the inner line, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking point and ran deep into the corner

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

Through two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, featuring at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Verstappen slowly established dominance on the race

Russell undertook an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Norris and Max Verstappen stayed out

Norris stopped five circuits following the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was able to return still in the first place, George Russell having been unable to close in on the Red Bull car even with his newer rubber

Lando Norris returned after Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to allow his tyres to settle, soon reduced his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and overtook into runner-up position on lap 34

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

He was instructed to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was readily could repel Lando's attacks, and in the closing stages the gap increased significantly as the McLaren car began to suffer a technical issue which has so far remained unidentified

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

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the championship - only one less than both McLaren teammates - was taken in dominant fashion and maintains him in title contention, at least mathematically, even if he needs problems for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to optimize everything we've have," Max Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will attempt to win the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Oscar Piastri started in fifth but lost two positions on the opening lap following being clouted by Lawson, who was soon eliminated of the battle by a damaged nose section

He trailed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Strip but also out to Leclerc, who he was able to overtake again during the tire change phase

Piastri finished after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on the durable compound following stopping during the initial VSC, but was given a five second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It was a disappointing event from pretty much start to finish in certain respects," Oscar Piastri informed race broadcasters

Asked about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Just attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously need several of factors to favor me now to win, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the flag, his Williams lacking the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, following his heroic showing to qualify in third in the wet weather

Hadjar took eighth place before the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, up to thirteenth on the first lap and continued to move forwards

He got stuck in a DRS train with a bunch of other cars but was could use his strong beginning to rescue a championship point after the poorest qualifying session of his racing life