Lando Norris Advances Nearer to Championship as Max Verstappen Claims Las Vegas F1 Race Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped nearer to a maiden world title with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

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

Norris will win the title in the desert as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

Piastri, so impressive in the first half of the championship, has failed to finish on the podium for six consecutive events

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

"It remains a good result to secure second place. I've got to congratulate Verstappen and Red Bull"

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

The key stories of one of Formula 1's most high-profile races included:

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

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

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

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

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

However following an aggressive move in front of Verstappen to block the Verstappen's challenge on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

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

Through two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the race

George Russell undertook an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Norris and Verstappen remained on track

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

Verstappen was able to return still in the lead, George Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull even with his fresher tyres

Norris returned behind Russell from his pit stop but following a several careful circuits to let his tyres to warm up, quickly reduced his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes and overtook into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris inquired his race engineer how to manage the remainder of his event, essentially questioning whether he should accept second or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily able to repel Norris' challenges, and in the final laps the gap extended significantly as the McLaren car began to experience a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was able to hold off George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while pursuing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - just one less than both McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at least theoretically, although he requires problems for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It's still a big gap, we always try to optimize all we've got," Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will attempt to win the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we finish, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Oscar Piastri started in fifth but dropped two places on the opening lap following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of contention by a broken nose section

He trailed Liam Lawson's team-mate 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 after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on hard tyres following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a start-line violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It was a frustrating event from essentially beginning to end in certain respects," Piastri told race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would approach the final two races, he said: "Simply try to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously require quite a lot of factors to favor me now to win, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if something happens"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh place at the finish, his Williams missing the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, following his impressive performance to start third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time champion executed a flying start, up to 13th on the opening circuit and continued to move forwards

He got stuck in a DRS train with a bunch of other cars but was able to employ his electric start to rescue a point following the worst qualifying session of his racing life