Norris Moves Nearer to Title as Verstappen Takes Las Vegas F1 Race Win

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

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

The Briton will win the championship in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender over five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so strong in the opening stages of the championship, has failed to finish on the top three for six consecutive events

"Verstappen had a good race. I made the mistake at the beginning and was overly aggressive on that first turn," stated Norris

"It's still a positive outcome to secure second. I've got to praise Max and his team"

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

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

• Norris maintained his momentum towards the championship despite the victory to Max Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's difficult performance streak persisted as his championship chances wane

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

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

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

But following an forceful cut in front of Verstappen to head off the Dutchman's challenge on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the turn

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

During two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen gradually established dominance on the event

George Russell undertook an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Verstappen remained on track

The McLaren driver stopped five circuits following the Mercedes and Max Verstappen ten laps later

The Red Bull driver was could rejoin still in the lead, Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull car even with his newer rubber

Lando Norris returned behind George Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to let his tires to warm up, quickly reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and overtook into second place on lap 34

The British driver asked his race engineer how to manage the rest of his race, essentially questioning whether he should settle for second place or attack

He was instructed to "chase down Max" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Max Verstappen was easily could repel Norris' challenges, and in the closing stages the gap extended significantly as the McLaren began to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far not been defined

Despite losing nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was able to hold off Russell because of the size of the lead he had built while chasing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the season - only one less than the two McLaren teammates - was taken in dominant fashion and keeps him in championship contention, at least mathematically, even if he requires problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It's still a big gap, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've got," Max Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will try to take victory in the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm extremely pleased of the entire team"

Oscar Piastri started in fifth but lost two positions on the opening lap following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon taken out of the battle by a damaged front wing

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

Piastri ended up behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the whole event on the durable compound following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five-second time penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It proved to be a frustrating race from pretty much start to finish in certain respects," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would approach the final two races, he said: "Simply attempt to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously require 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 take advantage if circumstances change"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, insufficiently close to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh place at the flag, his Williams car lacking the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, after his impressive showing to start third in the wet

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

The seven-time champion executed a flying start, up to 13th on the opening circuit and continued to advance positions

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a group of other cars but was could employ his electric start to salvage a point after the worst qualifying session of his racing life