Norris Moves Nearer to Championship as Verstappen Secures Vegas F1 Race Win

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

Norris currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind the Mercedes of 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 desert as long as he does not lose over five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so strong in the opening stages of the season, has not finished on the podium for six consecutive events

"Max had a good race. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that first turn," stated Norris

"It remains a positive outcome to secure second place. I've got to praise Verstappen and Red Bull"

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

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

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

• Piastri's challenging performance streak continued as his championship chances wane

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

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

At the start, Lando Norris was true to his statement that he was "not present not to take risks" as he fought hard to protect his lead from pole position from Max Verstappen

But after an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Verstappen's attack on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking zone and ran deep into the turn

This enabled Verstappen to overtake into the first place while the British driver lost the runner-up spot to Russell

During two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, including at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly established dominance on the race

George Russell made an early pit stop for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen stayed out

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

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

Lando Norris rejoined behind Russell from his stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tires to warm up, soon reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

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

He was told to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Verstappen was easily able to defend against Lando's attacks, and in the final laps the margin increased substantially as the McLaren car began to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far not been defined

Despite dropping almost three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was could hold off George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - just one behind the two McLaren teammates - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at least theoretically, although he needs problems for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It remains a significant margin, we always try to maximise everything we've got," Max Verstappen stated

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to take victory in the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of the entire team"

Piastri began fifth but dropped two places on the opening lap following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a broken nose section

He trailed Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the Strip but also out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could repass during the tire change phase

The Australian finished behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on the durable compound following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five second time penalty for a start-line violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It was a frustrating race from pretty much start to finish in certain respects," Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would approach the remaining events, he commented: "Just attempt to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly require quite a lot of factors to go my way now to take the title, but my only option is make myself in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth place, insufficiently close to gain from Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh at the flag, his Williams car lacking the speed to challenge with the top teams in the dry, after his impressive performance to qualify in third in the wet weather

Isack Hadjar took eighth ahead of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time title winner made a flying start, rising to thirteenth 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 salvage a point after the worst qualifying session of his career