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

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped nearer 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 behind Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

The Briton will claim the championship in the desert as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so impressive in the first half of the championship, has failed to finish on the top three for six races

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

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

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

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

• Norris maintained his progress towards the championship losing the victory to Verstappen

• Piastri's challenging performance streak persisted as his title hopes wane

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

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

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

But following an forceful move in front of Verstappen to head off the Verstappen's attack on the inner line, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

That enabled Max Verstappen to overtake into the first place while the British driver also second place to Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually established dominance on the race

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

Norris stopped five circuits following the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen ten laps later

Verstappen was could return still in the first place, Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull even with his fresher tyres

Lando Norris rejoined behind George Russell from his pit stop but following a few cautious laps to allow his tires to warm up, quickly reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and overtook into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

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

He was told to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was easily able to repel Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the margin increased substantially as the McLaren car started to experience a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Despite losing nearly three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was able to hold off George Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had established while chasing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the championship - only one less than the two McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, although he requires issues for Lando Norris in the final two events to pass him

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

"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 fifth but lost two places on the opening lap following being clouted by Lawson, who was soon eliminated of the battle by a damaged nose section

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

The Australian finished behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on hard tyres after pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not immediately obvious on replays

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

Questioned about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Simply try to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously require quite a lot of things to go my way 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 benefit from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams missing the pace to challenge with the top teams in the dry, after his heroic showing to start in third in the wet

Isack Hadjar took eighth before Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time champion executed a strong getaway, up to 13th on the first lap and proceeded to move forwards

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was able to employ his electric start to salvage a championship point following the worst qualifying session of his career