Norris Edges Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Takes Las Vegas Grand Prix Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris moved closer to a maiden world title with second place in the Vegas race following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

Norris now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

Norris will secure the title in the Qatar as long as he does not lose over five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so strong in the opening stages of the championship, has not finished on the top three for six consecutive events

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

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

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

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

• Lando Norris maintained his momentum towards the championship despite the victory to Verstappen

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

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

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

From the beginning, Lando Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he fought hard to protect his advantage from starting first from Verstappen

However after an aggressive move in front of Verstappen to block the Verstappen's challenge on the inner line, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

This enabled Verstappen to drive past into the first place while the British driver lost second place to George Russell

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

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

The McLaren driver pitted five laps after the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

Verstappen was could rejoin still in the first place, George Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull despite his newer rubber

Norris returned after Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tyres to settle, quickly reduced his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver inquired his engineer how to manage the remainder of his event, effectively asking whether he should settle for second place or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Verstappen was easily able to repel Norris' challenges, and in the closing stages the margin extended substantially as the McLaren car began to suffer a mechanical problem which has thus far not been defined

Even with losing nearly three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was able to hold off George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the championship - just one behind both McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in title contention, at minimum theoretically, even if he needs issues for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It remains a big gap, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've got," Verstappen stated

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

Oscar Piastri began in fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon taken out of contention by a broken nose section

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

The Australian ended up after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the entire race on hard tyres following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five second time penalty for a start-line violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

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

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Just try to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need quite a lot of things to favor me at this stage to win, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if something happens"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh place at the finish, his Williams missing the speed to challenge with the top teams in the dry, after his impressive showing to start third in the wet weather

Isack Hadjar secured eighth place before Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion executed a flying start, rising to thirteenth on the opening circuit and proceeded to move forwards

He got stuck in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was able to use his electric start to salvage a point following the poorest qualifying performance of his career