Lando Norris Moves Nearer to Championship as Verstappen Claims Vegas F1 Race Win

The McLaren Lando Norris moved closer to a maiden championship with second place in the Vegas race following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

Norris now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth after the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

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

Piastri, so impressive in the opening stages of the season, has failed to finish on the podium for six races

"Verstappen had a good race. I made the mistake at the beginning and was overly aggressive on that opening corner," said Norris

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

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

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

• Lando Norris maintained his momentum towards the title losing the victory to Verstappen

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

• A excellent win for Max Verstappen to maintain him in the title fight

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for tenth place following starting at the rear

At the start, Lando Norris was true to his statement that he was "not here not to take risks" as he fought hard to protect his lead from starting first from Verstappen

However after an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Dutchman's attack on the inside, Norris miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

This allowed Verstappen to drive past into the lead while Norris lost the runner-up spot to George Russell

During two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, including at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the event

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

Norris pitted five laps following the Mercedes driver and Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was able to return still in the first place, George Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull despite his newer rubber

Norris rejoined behind George Russell from his stop but following a few cautious laps to allow his tires to settle, quickly reduced his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes and swept by into second place on lap 34

The British driver asked his race engineer how to run the remainder of his race, essentially 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 easily able to repel Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the margin increased significantly as the McLaren started to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far remained unidentified

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

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the championship - only one behind both McLaren drivers - was taken in dominant fashion and keeps him in championship contention, at least theoretically, although he needs issues for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to maximise everything we've have," Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will try to take victory in the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of the entire team"

Piastri started fifth but lost two places on the opening lap after being hit by Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of the battle by a broken front wing

He trailed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but lost out to Leclerc, who he was could repass during the tire change phase

The Australian ended up behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the whole event on hard tyres following stopping during the initial VSC, but was given a five-second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

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

Asked about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Simply try to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously need several 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 take advantage if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh at the finish, his Williams car lacking the speed to challenge with the top teams in the dry, following his heroic showing to qualify third in the wet weather

Isack Hadjar secured eighth place ahead of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion made a flying start, up to 13th on the opening circuit and continued 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 point after the worst qualifying performance of his racing life