Norris Advances Nearer to Championship as Max Verstappen Secures Las Vegas Grand Prix Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped closer to a maiden world title with runner-up position in the Vegas race following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Norris now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place after Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will claim the championship in the Qatar 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 races

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, following a difficult qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for 10th after beginning at the back

At the start, Norris was true to his claim that he was "not present not to take risks" as he fought hard to protect his advantage from pole position from Max Verstappen

However after an forceful move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Dutchman's challenge on the inside, Norris miscalculated his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

This allowed Max Verstappen to overtake into the lead while Norris lost the runner-up spot to George Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the race

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

Norris stopped five laps after the Mercedes and Max Verstappen 10

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

Lando Norris rejoined after George Russell from his pit stop but following a few cautious laps to allow his tires to warm up, soon closed his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and overtook into second place on lap 34

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

He was instructed to "chase down Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Verstappen was easily able to repel Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the gap extended significantly as the McLaren started to experience a technical issue which has thus far not been defined

Even with losing almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was could hold off Russell because of the extent of the lead he had built while chasing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the championship - just one behind both McLaren drivers - was achieved in dominant fashion and maintains him in championship contention, at least theoretically, even if he needs problems for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It's still a significant margin, we consistently attempt to optimize all we've got," Verstappen said

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

Piastri began fifth but dropped two places on the opening lap following being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was soon taken out of contention by a broken nose section

He trailed Lawson's teammate 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

Piastri ended up after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the whole event on hard tyres following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It was a disappointing event from essentially beginning to end in certain respects," Oscar Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would tackle the final two races, he commented: "Just try to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously require several of factors to favor me now to take the title, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if circumstances change"

Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh place at the flag, his Williams car missing the pace to compete with the leading outfits in the dry, following his impressive showing to start third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time champion made a flying start, up to 13th on the first lap and proceeded to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of other cars but was able to employ his electric start to salvage a championship point following the worst qualifying performance of his racing life