Lando Norris Moves Nearer to Championship as Max Verstappen Claims Las Vegas F1 Race Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris moved nearer to a maiden championship with runner-up position in the Vegas race following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points going into the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will claim the title in the Qatar as long as he does not lose over five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so strong in the first half of the championship, has failed to finish on the top three for six consecutive events

"Max had a strong performance. I made the mistake early on and was overly aggressive on that first turn," stated Norris

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

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

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

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

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

• A excellent victory for Verstappen to keep him in the championship battle

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a point for tenth place following starting at the rear

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

However following an forceful cut in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Verstappen's challenge 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 lead while Norris lost the runner-up spot to George Russell

Through two VSC periods for some early incidents, including at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually established dominance on the event

Russell made an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Lando Norris and Verstappen remained on track

The McLaren driver pitted five circuits after the Mercedes and Verstappen ten laps later

Verstappen was able to return still in the lead, George Russell having been unable to close in on the Red Bull even with his fresher tyres

Norris rejoined after George Russell from his stop but after a few cautious laps to let his tires to settle, soon closed his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into second place on lap 34

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

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily could defend against Norris' challenges, and in the closing stages the gap extended substantially as the McLaren car began to suffer a technical issue which has thus far not been defined

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Norris was able to hold off George Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had built while pursuing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the championship - just one less than both McLaren drivers - was taken in dominant fashion and maintains him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, even if he requires problems for Norris in the final two events to pass him

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

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to take victory in the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm very proud of everyone"

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

He followed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Strip but also position to Leclerc, who he was could repass during the tire change phase

The Australian finished after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the whole event on hard tyres following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second penalty for a start-line violation, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It proved to be a disappointing event from pretty much start to finish in certain respects," Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he commented: "Just try to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need several of things to go my way now to win, but my only option is make myself in the best position to take advantage if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth place, insufficiently close to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh place at the flag, his Williams car missing the pace to challenge with the top teams in the dry conditions, following his heroic performance to qualify third in the wet

Isack Hadjar secured eighth ahead of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time title winner made a strong getaway, up to 13th on the first lap and proceeded to move forwards

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was could employ his strong beginning to salvage a point following the poorest qualifying performance of his career