Norris Edges Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Claims Vegas Grand Prix Win

McLaren's Lando Norris moved closer to his first world title with runner-up position in the Vegas race behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points going into the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

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

The Australian driver, so impressive in the opening stages of the season, has not finished on the top three for six consecutive events

"Max had a strong performance. I erred at the beginning and was too punchy on that first turn," said Norris

"It remains a positive outcome to secure second. I've got to congratulate Verstappen and his team"

After Qatar, the last event of the championship takes place in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

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

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

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

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

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton securing a point for 10th following beginning at the rear

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

However following an forceful cut in front of Verstappen to block the Dutchman's attack on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking point and ran deep into the turn

That enabled Verstappen to overtake into the lead while the British driver lost the runner-up spot to George Russell

Through two VSC periods for some early incidents, including at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event

George Russell undertook an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen stayed out

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

Verstappen was could return still in the lead, George Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull even with his fresher tyres

Lando Norris returned after George Russell from his stop but following a few cautious laps to let his tires to warm up, soon closed his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes and swept by into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris inquired his engineer how to run the rest of his event, essentially questioning whether he should accept second place or attack

He was told to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was easily could repel Norris' challenges, and in the closing stages the gap increased substantially as the McLaren began to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far not been defined

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Norris was able to defend against George Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the season - just one behind the two McLaren drivers - was taken in dominant fashion and maintains him in championship contention, at least mathematically, although he needs issues for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

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

"In upcoming weekends we will try to win the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Piastri began fifth but lost two positions on the opening lap after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of contention by a broken nose section

He followed Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but lost out to Leclerc, who he was able to repass during the tire change phase

The Australian ended up behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the entire race on the durable compound following pitting during the initial VSC, but was given a five-second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not clearly visible on replays

"It was a disappointing race from essentially start to finish in certain respects," Oscar Piastri informed race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Just try to put myself in the best position I can. I clearly need quite a lot of things to favor me now to take the title, but all I can do is make myself in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Leclerc hung on in sixth position, not close enough to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the flag, his Williams car missing the speed to compete with the top teams in the dry conditions, following his impressive showing to start third in the wet

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

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

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was able to use his electric start to salvage a championship point following the worst qualifying performance of his career