Lando Norris Moves Nearer to Title as Max Verstappen Takes Las Vegas F1 Race Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped closer to a maiden championship with second place in the Vegas race behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth after Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will win 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 season, has failed to finish on the podium for six consecutive events

"Max had a strong performance. I erred early on and was too punchy on that opening corner," said Norris

"It remains a positive outcome to secure second place. I've got to congratulate Max and his team"

After Qatar, the last event of the season takes place in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

The key stories of one of Formula 1's most prestigious races included:

• Norris continued his progress towards the title losing the win to Verstappen

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

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

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

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

But after an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Verstappen's attack on the inside, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

This enabled Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while the British driver also second place to Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, including at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Verstappen slowly established dominance on the event

Russell made an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Norris and Verstappen remained on track

The McLaren driver stopped five circuits after the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen 10

Verstappen was able to return still in the lead, George Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull car despite his newer rubber

Norris rejoined after Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to allow his tyres to warm up, soon reduced his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

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

He was instructed to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Verstappen was easily could repel Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the margin increased significantly as the McLaren car began to experience a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Even with dropping almost three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was able to hold off Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while chasing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the season - only one less than the two McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at least theoretically, although he requires issues for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to maximise everything we've have," Max Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will attempt 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 began fifth but lost two places on the first circuit following being hit by Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a damaged nose section

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

The Australian ended up behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the whole event on the durable compound after stopping during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five second penalty for a start-line violation, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It proved to be a disappointing race from pretty much beginning to end in some ways," Oscar Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Simply attempt to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously need quite a lot of things to favor me now to take the title, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if something happens"

Leclerc hung on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the finish, his Williams missing the pace to challenge with the top teams in the dry, following his impressive performance to start in third in the wet

Isack Hadjar secured eighth before Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, rising to thirteenth on the opening circuit and continued to move forwards

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of other cars but was could use his electric start to salvage a point following the poorest qualifying performance of his racing life