Norris Edges Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Takes Vegas F1 Race Win

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped nearer to a maiden world title with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place after Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points going into the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will win the title in the Qatar as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

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

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

"It remains a positive outcome to secure second. I've got to congratulate Verstappen and Red Bull"

Following Qatar, the last event of the season takes place in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

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

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

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

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

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

From the beginning, Norris was true to his claim that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to protect his advantage from pole position from Max Verstappen

However after an aggressive cut in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Dutchman's attack on the inner line, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the turn

This allowed Max Verstappen to drive past into the lead while Norris also second place to George Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually established dominance on the race

Russell undertook an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Verstappen stayed out

The McLaren driver stopped five circuits following the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen 10

Verstappen was could rejoin still in the lead, Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull car even with his fresher tyres

Lando Norris returned after Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to let his tires to warm up, soon closed his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris asked his engineer how to run the remainder of his event, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second or attack

He was instructed to "go and get Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily able to repel Norris' challenges, and in the final laps the margin increased significantly as the McLaren began to suffer a technical issue which has thus far remained unidentified

Even with losing nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was could hold off George Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had built while pursuing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the season - only one behind the two McLaren teammates - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in title contention, at minimum mathematically, even if he needs problems for Lando Norris in the final two events to pass him

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

"In upcoming weekends we will try to take victory in the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we finish, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Piastri started fifth but dropped two positions on the first circuit after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a broken front wing

He trailed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but lost out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the tire change phase

The Australian finished after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the whole event 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 video reviews

"It was a disappointing race from essentially beginning to end in certain respects," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would approach the remaining events, he said: "Just try to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need several of factors to go my way at this stage to win, 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 dropped to seventh place at the finish, his Williams missing the pace to challenge with the top teams in the dry, after his impressive showing to qualify in third in the wet

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

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, up to 13th on the first lap and continued to advance positions

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a group of other cars but was able to use his electric start to rescue a championship point following the poorest qualifying session of his racing life