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

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

The British driver now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place after the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

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

Piastri, so strong in the first half of the season, has not finished on the podium for six consecutive events

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

"It remains a good result to get second place. I've got to praise Verstappen and his team"

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

The key stories of among Formula 1's most high-profile races included:

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

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

• A excellent win for Verstappen to maintain him in the title fight

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for 10th after beginning at the rear

From the beginning, Lando Norris was true to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his advantage from starting first from Verstappen

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

This enabled Verstappen to drive past into the first place while Norris also second place to George Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, including at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Verstappen slowly established dominance on the race

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

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

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

Lando Norris rejoined after George Russell from his pit stop but following a few cautious laps to allow his tires to settle, quickly closed his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

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

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily could defend against Lando's attacks, and in the closing stages the gap increased significantly as the McLaren car started to suffer a technical issue which has thus far remained unidentified

Despite losing almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was could hold off Russell because of the size of the lead he had built while chasing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the championship - only one behind both McLaren teammates - was achieved in emphatic style and maintains him in title contention, at minimum mathematically, even if he requires problems for Lando Norris in the final two events to overtake him

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

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

Oscar Piastri started in fifth but lost two positions on the opening lap following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon eliminated of contention by a damaged nose section

He followed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but also position to Leclerc, who he was could repass during the pit-stop period

Piastri finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the whole event on hard tyres after stopping during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It was a frustrating race from essentially start to finish in certain respects," Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Simply attempt to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly require quite a lot of things to favor me now to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if circumstances change"

Leclerc hung on in sixth place, not close enough to gain from Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams car missing the speed to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, after his heroic performance to qualify third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time title winner made a flying start, rising to 13th on the first lap and proceeded to advance positions

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a group of other cars but was able to employ his electric start to rescue a point following the poorest qualifying performance of his career