Norris Edges Nearer to Championship as Verstappen Takes Las Vegas Grand Prix Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped closer to a maiden world title with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Norris now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth after Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points going into the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

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

The Australian driver, so strong in the opening stages of the season, has not finished on the podium for six races

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

"It remains a good result to get second. I've got to congratulate Verstappen and Red Bull"

After 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 high-profile races were:

• Lando Norris continued his progress towards the title losing the win to Max Verstappen

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

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

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

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

However after an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to block the Verstappen's challenge on the inside, Norris miscalculated his braking point and went too deep into the corner

That enabled Max Verstappen to overtake into the lead while the British driver lost the runner-up spot to Russell

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

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

Norris stopped five circuits following the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen ten laps later

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

Norris rejoined after George Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to let his tyres to warm up, quickly reduced his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes driver and overtook into runner-up position on lap 34

The British driver asked his engineer how to run the rest of his event, essentially asking whether he should accept second or challenge for the lead

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily could defend against Lando's attacks, and in the closing stages the gap increased substantially as the McLaren began to experience a mechanical problem which has so far not been defined

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was able to hold off George Russell because of the size of the lead he had built while chasing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the championship - only one less than the two McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, although he needs problems for Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It remains a significant margin, we always try to maximise everything we've have," Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will attempt to win the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we finish, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Piastri began fifth but lost two positions on the opening lap after being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a broken nose section

He followed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but also out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the tire change phase

Piastri ended up behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on the durable compound following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five-second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not clearly visible on replays

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

Questioned about how he would approach the remaining events, he commented: "Just try to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly require several of things to favor me at this stage to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to take advantage if something happens"

Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh at the finish, his Williams missing the pace to compete with the top teams in the dry, following his impressive performance to start third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time title winner made a strong getaway, rising to thirteenth on the opening circuit and continued to move forwards

He got stuck in a DRS train with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could employ his electric start to rescue a point after the worst qualifying session of his racing life