Norris Advances Nearer to Title as Max Verstappen Secures Las Vegas F1 Race Win

The McLaren Lando Norris moved nearer to his first championship with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth after the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

Norris will claim the championship in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the opening stages of the championship, has not finished on the top three for six races

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

"It remains a positive outcome to get second. I've got to praise Max and Red Bull"

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

The main developments of among Formula 1's most prestigious races included:

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

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

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

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

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

But following an forceful cut in front of Verstappen to block the Dutchman's challenge on the inner line, Norris misjudged his braking zone and ran deep into the turn

This enabled Verstappen to drive past into the lead while the British driver also the runner-up spot to Russell

During two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event

Russell undertook an early pit stop for the hard tyres, but Norris and Verstappen stayed out

Norris stopped five laps following the Mercedes and Max Verstappen 10

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

Lando Norris returned behind Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to let his tyres to warm up, soon closed his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes driver and overtook into second place on lap 34

The British driver asked his engineer how to run the remainder of his race, effectively questioning whether he should accept second place or attack

He was instructed to "chase down Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was readily able to defend against Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the margin increased significantly as the McLaren car began to suffer a technical issue which has thus far remained unidentified

Despite losing almost three seconds a lap, Norris was able to defend against Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - only one less than the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in title contention, at least mathematically, although he needs problems for Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to optimize all we've have," Max Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will attempt to win the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of the entire team"

Oscar Piastri began in fifth but dropped two positions on the opening lap following being hit by Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of contention by a damaged nose section

He trailed Liam Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but lost out to Leclerc, who he was able to repass during the tire change phase

Piastri finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the whole event on the durable compound following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It proved to be a disappointing race from essentially start to finish in certain respects," Piastri informed race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he commented: "Simply try to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously need several of things to favor me at this stage to win, but all I can do is make myself in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh at the finish, his Williams car missing the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, after his heroic showing to qualify third in the wet

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

The seven-time title winner 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 other cars but was could employ his electric start to rescue a championship point after the poorest qualifying session of his racing life