Norris Moves Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Secures Las Vegas F1 Race Win

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped nearer to his first championship with second place in the Vegas race behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place behind Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will secure the title in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the first half of the season, has not finished on the top three for six consecutive events

"Verstappen had a strong performance. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that opening corner," said Norris

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

After Qatar, the final race of the championship follows in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

The main developments of among Formula 1's most prestigious races included:

• Lando Norris continued his progress towards the championship losing the win to Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's challenging run of form persisted as his championship chances wane

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

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a single point for 10th following beginning at the rear

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

However after an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to block the Dutchman's challenge on the inner line, Norris miscalculated his braking point and ran deep into the turn

That allowed Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while Norris lost second place to Russell

Through two VSC periods for some early incidents, including at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the event

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

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

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

Norris rejoined after George Russell from his stop but following a few cautious laps to allow his tyres to warm up, quickly closed his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

The British driver asked his race engineer how to run the rest of his event, essentially questioning whether he should settle for second place or challenge for the lead

He was told to "go and get Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was readily able to repel Lando's challenges, and in the closing stages the margin increased significantly as the McLaren car started to suffer a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Even with dropping nearly three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was could defend against George Russell because of the size of the lead he had built while chasing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the championship - just one less than the two McLaren drivers - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, even if he requires issues for Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It remains a significant margin, we always try to maximise everything we've have," Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to take victory in the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm very proud of everyone"

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

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

The Australian finished behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the whole event on the durable compound after stopping during the first virtual safety car, 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 disappointing race from essentially beginning to end in some ways," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Asked about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Simply attempt to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously require quite a lot of factors to favor me now to take the title, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if something happens"

Leclerc held on in sixth place, insufficiently close to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh place at the finish, his Williams missing the speed to challenge with the top teams in the dry conditions, following his impressive showing to qualify in third in the wet weather

Hadjar took eighth place before the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time title winner made a strong getaway, rising to 13th on the opening circuit and proceeded to move forwards

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a group of additional vehicles but was able to employ his electric start to rescue a championship point following the worst qualifying session of his career