Norris Edges Nearer to Title as Verstappen Claims Las Vegas F1 Race Win

McLaren's Lando Norris moved closer to a maiden world title with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Norris currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

Norris will secure the title in the Qatar 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 season, has not finished on the podium for six consecutive events

"Max had a strong performance. I made the mistake at the beginning and was too punchy on that first turn," said Norris

"It's still a positive outcome to secure second. I've got to praise Verstappen and his team"

Following Qatar, the final race of the season follows in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

The main developments of one of Formula 1's most high-profile races included:

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

• Piastri's difficult run of form persisted as his title hopes wane

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

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

From the beginning, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he fought hard to defend his lead from pole position from Verstappen

However following an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to block the Verstappen's attack on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking point and went too deep into the corner

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

Through two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event

Russell undertook an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Norris and Verstappen stayed out

Norris pitted five circuits after the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

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

Norris returned behind George Russell from his stop but following a few cautious laps to let his tires to settle, soon reduced his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris inquired his engineer how to manage the rest of his race, effectively asking whether he should settle for second or challenge for the lead

He was told to "go and get Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Max Verstappen was readily could defend against Lando's challenges, and in the closing stages the margin extended substantially as the McLaren car started to experience a mechanical problem which has so far not been defined

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a lap, Norris was could hold off Russell because of the size of the lead he had built while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the championship - just one less than the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at least mathematically, even if he needs problems for Lando Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It remains a big gap, we always try to maximise all we've got," Max Verstappen stated

"In upcoming weekends we will try to take victory in the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Oscar Piastri started fifth but lost two places on the opening lap after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of the battle by a damaged nose section

He followed Liam Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Strip but also out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could repass during the tire change phase

Piastri finished behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the whole event on the durable compound following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five-second time penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It was a disappointing event from pretty much beginning to end in some ways," Oscar Piastri informed race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he commented: "Simply attempt to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously require quite a lot of things to favor me now to win, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to take advantage if something happens"

Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to gain from Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh place at the flag, his Williams lacking the speed to compete with the top teams in the dry conditions, following his impressive showing to qualify in third in the wet

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

The seven-time champion executed a flying start, up to 13th on the first lap and continued to advance positions

He got stuck in a DRS train with a group of other cars but was could use his electric start to salvage a championship point after the worst qualifying session of his career