Lando Norris Edges Nearer to Title as Max Verstappen Secures Vegas Grand Prix Win

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped nearer to his first world title with second place in the Vegas race following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will claim the title in the Qatar as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

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

"Max had a good race. I erred early on and was too punchy on that opening corner," stated Norris

"It's still a good result to get second place. I've got to congratulate Verstappen and Red Bull"

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

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

• Lando Norris continued his momentum towards the championship despite the win to Verstappen

• Piastri's challenging run of form persisted as his title hopes diminish

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

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

At the start, Lando Norris was true to his claim that he was "not present not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his advantage from pole position from Max Verstappen

But following an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Dutchman's challenge on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking zone and went too deep into the corner

This allowed Verstappen to drive past into the first place while the British driver lost the runner-up spot to George Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, including 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 Max Verstappen remained on track

Norris stopped five circuits following the Mercedes and Max Verstappen ten laps later

The Red Bull driver was could return still in the lead, George Russell having been unable to close in on the Red Bull car despite his newer rubber

Lando Norris rejoined after George Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to allow his tires to settle, quickly reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and swept by into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver asked his engineer how to manage the rest of his event, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second place or attack

He was instructed to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Verstappen was easily able to repel Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the margin increased substantially as the McLaren car began to suffer a mechanical problem which has thus far not been defined

Even with losing almost three seconds a lap, Norris was could defend against Russell because of the size of the advantage he had built while chasing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the championship - only one less than both McLaren drivers - was taken in dominant fashion and keeps him in title contention, at minimum mathematically, although he requires problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

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

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

Piastri began in fifth but dropped two positions on the opening lap after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon taken out of contention by a broken nose section

He followed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but lost out to Charles Leclerc, who he was able to overtake again during the pit-stop period

Piastri ended up after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the whole event on the durable compound following stopping during the initial VSC, but was given a five-second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It proved to be a frustrating event from essentially beginning to end in some ways," Oscar Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Simply attempt to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously need several of factors to favor me at this stage to win, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth position, insufficiently close to gain from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh place at the finish, his Williams car missing the speed to compete with the top teams in the dry conditions, after his impressive showing to start third in the wet

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

The seven-time title winner executed a flying start, up to thirteenth on the opening circuit and proceeded to move forwards

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was able to use his strong beginning to salvage a point after the poorest qualifying session of his career