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

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

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

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

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

"Verstappen had a strong performance. I made the mistake at the beginning and was too punchy on that opening corner," stated Norris

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

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

The key stories of one of Formula 1's most high-profile races were:

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

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

• A superb victory for Verstappen to keep him in the title fight

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

At the start, Lando Norris was true to his claim that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he fought hard to defend his advantage from pole position from Verstappen

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

That allowed Verstappen to drive past into the lead while the British driver lost second place to George Russell

Through two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, including at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the race

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

The McLaren driver stopped five laps following the Mercedes driver and Verstappen 10

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

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

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

He was told to "go and get Max" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Verstappen was easily could repel Norris' challenges, and in the final laps the margin extended significantly as the McLaren car began to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far remained unidentified

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was able to hold off Russell because of the size of the advantage he had established while pursuing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the championship - only one less than the two McLaren drivers - was taken in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at least theoretically, even if he needs issues for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It's still a big gap, we consistently attempt to optimize all we've have," Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will attempt to take victory in the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Piastri began in fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit after being clouted by Lawson, who was soon eliminated of contention by a broken nose section

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

The Australian finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the entire race on the durable compound following stopping during the initial VSC, but was given a five second time penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It was a disappointing event from essentially beginning to end in some ways," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he commented: "Just attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously need several of factors to go my way at this stage to take the title, but my only option is make myself in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Leclerc hung on in sixth place, insufficiently close to gain from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh at the flag, his Williams missing the speed to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, following his heroic performance to start in third in the wet

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

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

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a bunch of other cars but was could use his electric start to salvage a championship point following the worst qualifying session of his career