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

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

The British driver now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points going into the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will secure the championship in the Qatar as long as he does not lose over five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so strong in the first half of the season, has failed to finish on the podium for six consecutive events

"Verstappen had a good race. I erred early on and was too punchy on that first turn," stated Norris

"It remains a positive outcome to secure second place. I've got to praise Max and his team"

Following Qatar, the final race of the championship takes place in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

The key stories of one of Formula 1's most prestigious races were:

• Lando Norris maintained his momentum towards the title despite the win to Verstappen

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

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

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton securing a single point for tenth place after beginning at the rear

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

But following an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Verstappen's challenge on the inner line, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking zone and ran deep into the turn

This allowed Verstappen to overtake into the lead while Norris also the runner-up spot to Russell

Through two VSC periods for some early incidents, including at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly established dominance on the race

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

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

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

Lando Norris returned behind George Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to allow his tires to warm up, quickly closed his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and overtook into second place on lap 34

The British driver inquired his race engineer how to run the remainder of his event, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second place or attack

He was instructed to "go and get Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily could defend against Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the margin increased substantially as the McLaren car began to suffer a technical issue which has thus far not been defined

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

The Verstappen's sixth win of the championship - only one less than both McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at minimum theoretically, although he requires issues for Lando Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It's still a significant margin, we always try to maximise all we've got," Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will try to take victory in the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Oscar Piastri started fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit following being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was soon eliminated of the battle by a damaged front wing

He followed Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the Strip but also out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could repass during the tire change phase

The Australian ended up behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the whole event on the durable compound following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five-second time penalty for a start-line violation, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

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

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Simply attempt to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need several of factors to go my way at this stage to take the title, but my only option is make myself in the ideal situation to capitalise if circumstances change"

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

Isack Hadjar took eighth place 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 got stuck in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was able to employ his electric start to salvage a point after the worst qualifying performance of his racing life