Lando Norris Edges Closer to Title as Verstappen Takes Vegas F1 Race Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris moved closer to a maiden championship with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Norris currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will secure the title in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so impressive in the opening stages of the season, has not finished on the top three for six consecutive events

"Max had a strong performance. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that first turn," said Norris

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

Following Qatar, the final race of the championship follows in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

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

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

• Piastri's challenging run of form persisted as his championship chances diminish

• A excellent victory for Verstappen to maintain 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 beginning at the back

From the beginning, Norris was true to his claim that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he fought hard to protect his advantage from starting first from Verstappen

But after an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to head off the Verstappen's attack on the inner line, Norris misjudged his braking point and went too deep into the corner

This enabled Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while the British driver lost second place to Russell

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

George Russell made an early tire change for the more durable compound, but Norris and Verstappen stayed out

Norris pitted five laps following the Mercedes and Max Verstappen ten laps later

Verstappen was could rejoin still in the first place, George Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull despite his newer rubber

Lando Norris rejoined behind Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to allow his tyres to warm up, soon closed his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

The British driver asked his race engineer how to run the rest of his event, effectively questioning whether he should accept second place or attack

He was instructed to "chase down Max" but it quickly became apparent 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 started to suffer a mechanical problem which has so far not been defined

Despite losing nearly three seconds a lap, Norris was able to defend against Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had built while chasing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the championship - only one behind both McLaren drivers - was taken in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at least theoretically, even if he needs problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It remains a big gap, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've have," Verstappen stated

"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 extremely pleased of the entire team"

Piastri began fifth but dropped two places on the opening lap following being hit by Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of the battle by a broken nose section

He followed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Strip but lost position to Leclerc, who he was able to overtake again during the pit-stop period

The Australian ended up behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the whole event on the durable compound following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not clearly visible on replays

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

Asked about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Just try to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need several of things to favor me at this stage to take the title, but my only option is make myself in the best position to capitalise if circumstances change"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh at the flag, his Williams car lacking the pace to challenge with the top teams in the dry conditions, following his heroic showing to start in third in the wet

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

The seven-time title winner made a strong getaway, rising to thirteenth on the opening circuit and proceeded to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was able to use his strong beginning to salvage a championship point after the worst qualifying session of his career