Lando Norris Advances Nearer to Championship as Verstappen Takes Vegas F1 Race Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped nearer to a maiden championship with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Norris currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

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

Piastri, so impressive in the first half of the championship, has not finished on the podium for six races

"Max had a good race. I erred at the beginning and was too punchy on that opening corner," said Norris

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

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

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

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

• Oscar Piastri's challenging performance streak continued as his title hopes wane

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

• Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a single point for tenth place following beginning at the back

From the beginning, Norris was true to his claim that he was "not here not to take risks" as he fought hard to protect his lead from starting first from Max Verstappen

But after an forceful move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Dutchman's challenge on the inner line, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

This enabled Verstappen to overtake into the first place while Norris also the runner-up spot to Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, including at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually established dominance on the race

George Russell made an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Lando Norris and Verstappen remained on track

The McLaren driver pitted five laps following the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was able to rejoin still in the first place, Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull car despite his fresher tyres

Norris rejoined after George Russell from his stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tires to settle, quickly closed his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

Norris asked his race engineer how to manage the rest of his event, essentially questioning whether he should settle for second or attack

He was instructed to "chase down Max" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was easily able to repel Norris' challenges, and in the closing stages the margin increased significantly as the McLaren car started to experience a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Even with dropping almost three seconds a lap, Norris was able to hold off Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had established while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the championship - just one less than the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at least theoretically, although he needs issues for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've have," Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will try to win the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of the entire team"

Oscar Piastri started in fifth but lost two positions on the opening lap following being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was soon eliminated of the battle by a damaged 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 also out to Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the pit-stop period

The Australian ended up after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the whole event on the durable compound following pitting during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It was a disappointing event from essentially start to finish in some ways," Oscar Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Simply attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I clearly need several of factors to favor me now to win, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to capitalise if something happens"

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

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

The seven-time title winner executed a strong getaway, up to thirteenth on the first lap and proceeded to move forwards

He got stuck in a DRS train with a bunch of additional vehicles but was able to use his electric start to rescue a point after the worst qualifying performance of his racing life