Norris Advances Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Claims Las Vegas F1 Race Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped nearer to his first world title with second place in the Vegas race following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

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

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

Piastri, so impressive in the first half of the season, has failed to finish on the top three for six consecutive events

"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 secure second. I've got to praise Max and Red Bull"

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

The main developments of one of Formula 1's most high-profile races included:

• Lando Norris maintained his momentum towards the championship despite the win to Verstappen

• Piastri's difficult performance streak persisted as his title hopes wane

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

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

From the beginning, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not present not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to protect his advantage from pole position from Verstappen

But following an forceful move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Dutchman's attack on the inner line, Norris misjudged his braking zone and went too deep into the corner

That allowed Max Verstappen to overtake into the first place while Norris lost second place to Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, featuring at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the event

George Russell undertook an early tire change for the more durable compound, but Lando Norris and Verstappen remained on track

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

The Red Bull driver was able to rejoin still in the first place, George Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull despite his newer rubber

Norris rejoined behind George Russell from his stop but after a few cautious laps to let his tires to warm up, quickly reduced his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes and swept by into second place on lap 34

Norris inquired his engineer how to run the remainder of his race, essentially asking whether he should accept second or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was readily could repel Lando's challenges, and in the closing stages the margin increased substantially as the McLaren car started to experience a mechanical problem which has so far not been defined

Even with dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was could hold off Russell because of the size of the advantage he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the championship - only one behind the two McLaren teammates - was taken in dominant fashion and keeps him in championship contention, at least theoretically, even if he requires issues for Lando Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It's still a significant margin, we always try to optimize everything we've got," Max Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will try to take victory in the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Piastri started in fifth but dropped two places on the first circuit following being clouted by Lawson, who was quickly taken out of contention by a damaged front wing

He followed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but also out to Leclerc, who he was could repass during the tire change phase

Piastri finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the entire race on the durable compound following pitting during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not clearly visible on replays

"It was a frustrating race from pretty much start to finish in some ways," Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would tackle the final two races, he commented: "Just try to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously require quite a lot of things to favor me now to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth position, insufficiently close to benefit from Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams lacking the pace to compete with the leading outfits in the dry, following his heroic performance to start third in the wet

Hadjar secured eighth before the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion made a flying start, rising to 13th on the opening circuit and proceeded to advance positions

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was able to employ his electric start to salvage a championship point after the worst qualifying session of his career