Norris Moves Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Claims Las Vegas Grand Prix Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped nearer to a maiden world title with second place in the Vegas race behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

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

Piastri, so strong in the opening stages of the championship, has failed to finish on the top three for six races

"Max had a strong performance. I erred early on and was too punchy on that first turn," stated Norris

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

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

The key stories of among Formula 1's most prestigious races were:

• Lando Norris continued his momentum towards the title despite the victory to Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's difficult run of form persisted as his championship chances wane

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

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

At the start, Lando Norris was true to his claim that he was "not here not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his advantage from pole position from Verstappen

However 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 turn

This enabled 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, including at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly established dominance on the race

Russell undertook an early tire change for the more durable compound, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen stayed out

The McLaren driver pitted five circuits after the Mercedes driver and Verstappen 10

Verstappen was able to return still in the first place, George Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull car even with his fresher tyres

Lando Norris rejoined after Russell from his stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tires to settle, soon closed his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver inquired his engineer how to run the remainder of his event, essentially asking whether he should settle for second place or attack

He was told to "chase down Max" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Verstappen was easily could repel Lando's attacks, and in the closing stages the gap extended substantially as the McLaren started to experience a technical issue which has thus far not been defined

Even with dropping almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was could hold off George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while chasing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the season - only one less than the two McLaren teammates - was achieved in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at least mathematically, although he requires problems for Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

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

"During the coming events we will attempt to take victory in the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm very proud of everyone"

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

He followed Liam Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before overtaking him on the Strip but also out to Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the pit-stop period

Piastri finished behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the whole event on hard tyres following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five-second time penalty for a start-line violation, which was not clearly visible on replays

"It was a frustrating race from pretty much beginning to end in some ways," Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Just attempt to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly need quite a lot of factors to favor me now to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if circumstances change"

Leclerc hung on in sixth position, insufficiently close to gain from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh place at the finish, his Williams car missing the speed to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, following his impressive showing to qualify in third in the wet

Hadjar took eighth place ahead of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time champion executed a strong getaway, rising to 13th on the first lap 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 rescue a championship point following the worst qualifying session of his career