Lando Norris Edges Nearer to Title as Verstappen Claims Las Vegas F1 Race Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris moved nearer to a maiden championship with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth after Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will secure the championship in the desert as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so strong in the first half of the season, has not finished on the podium for six consecutive events

"Verstappen had a good race. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that opening corner," stated Norris

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

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

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 Max Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's challenging run of form persisted as his title hopes diminish

• A excellent victory for Verstappen to keep him in the title fight

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for 10th after beginning at the back

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

But following an aggressive move in front of Verstappen to block the Dutchman's challenge on the inside, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking point and went too deep into the corner

This allowed Verstappen to overtake into the first place while the British driver also the runner-up spot to Russell

During two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, including at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Verstappen gradually established dominance on the race

George Russell undertook an early tire change for the more durable compound, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen remained on track

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

Verstappen was able to return still in the lead, Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull even with his newer rubber

Lando Norris rejoined behind Russell from his pit stop but following a several careful circuits to allow his tires 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 engineer how to manage the remainder of his event, essentially asking whether he should accept second or attack

He was instructed to "chase down Max" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily could defend against Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the gap increased significantly as the McLaren car began to experience a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Despite losing almost three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was able to defend against Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while pursuing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the championship - just one less than both McLaren teammates - was achieved in emphatic style and maintains him in title contention, at least mathematically, although he needs issues for Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It remains a big gap, we always try to maximise everything we've got," Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will try to win the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm very proud of everyone"

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

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

Piastri ended up after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the entire race on the durable compound following pitting during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five-second time penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It was a disappointing race from essentially start to finish in certain respects," Piastri told race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would approach the remaining events, he commented: "Just try to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly need several of factors to favor me now to take the title, but all I can do is make myself in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth position, insufficiently close to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams lacking the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, after his impressive showing to qualify in third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time title winner executed a flying start, up to thirteenth on the opening circuit and proceeded to move forwards

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a group of additional vehicles but was able to use his electric start to salvage a championship point after the worst qualifying performance of his racing life