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

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

Norris currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place after Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

The Briton will secure the title in the desert as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the opening stages of the season, has failed to finish on the podium for six consecutive events

"Verstappen had a strong performance. I erred early on and was overly aggressive on that first turn," said Norris

"It remains a good result to secure second. I've got to praise Max and Red Bull"

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

The key stories of one of Formula 1's most high-profile races were:

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

• Piastri's difficult run of form persisted as his title hopes diminish

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

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for tenth place after beginning at the back

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

But after an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Dutchman's challenge on the inner line, Norris misjudged his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

That allowed Verstappen to drive past into the first place while the British driver also second place to Russell

During two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, including at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact 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 remained on track

The McLaren driver stopped five laps following the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

Verstappen was could return still in the lead, Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull even with his newer rubber

Norris returned after Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to let his tyres to settle, soon reduced his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes and swept by into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver inquired his race engineer how to manage the rest of his race, effectively asking whether he should settle for second place or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Verstappen was readily could repel Lando's attacks, and in the closing stages the margin extended substantially as the McLaren began to experience a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Even with dropping nearly three seconds a lap, Norris was able to defend against Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the championship - just one less than the two McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in title contention, at least theoretically, although he needs issues for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It remains a big gap, we always try to maximise all we've got," Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will try to win the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of the entire team"

Oscar Piastri began fifth but lost two positions on the opening lap after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon taken out of contention by a damaged front wing

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

Piastri ended up after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the whole event on hard tyres following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It proved to be a frustrating race from essentially start to finish in some ways," Oscar Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would tackle the final two races, he commented: "Just attempt to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously 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 held on in sixth position, insufficiently close to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the finish, his Williams car missing the pace to compete with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, after his impressive showing to start in third in the wet

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

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, up to thirteenth on the first lap and proceeded to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was able to employ his strong beginning to rescue a point after the poorest qualifying session of his career