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

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped closer to his first world title with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth after the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

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

The Australian driver, so impressive in the first half of the season, has not finished on the podium for six consecutive events

"Max had a good race. I erred early on and was overly aggressive on that first turn," stated Norris

"It's still a good result to get second. I've got to praise Max and Red Bull"

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

The key stories of one of Formula 1's most high-profile races included:

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

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

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

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, following a difficult qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for 10th 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 fought hard to protect his lead from starting first from Verstappen

However after an forceful cut in front of Verstappen to head off the Dutchman's attack on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking zone and ran deep into the turn

That allowed Verstappen to overtake into the first place while the British driver lost second place to George Russell

Through two virtual safety cars 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

George Russell undertook an early pit stop for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen remained on track

The McLaren driver stopped five circuits following the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen ten laps later

Verstappen was able to rejoin still in the first place, George Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull car despite his newer rubber

Lando Norris returned behind Russell from his stop but following a few cautious laps to allow his tires to warm up, soon reduced his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes driver and overtook into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver inquired his engineer how to run the remainder of his race, essentially asking whether he should settle for second place or attack

He was told to "chase down Max" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Max Verstappen was easily could repel Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the gap extended substantially as the McLaren car began to suffer a technical issue which has thus far remained unidentified

Even with dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was could defend against Russell because of the size of the advantage he had established while pursuing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the championship - only one less than the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in title contention, at least theoretically, even if he requires issues for Lando Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to optimize everything we've have," Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will try to win the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we finish, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Oscar Piastri started fifth but dropped two positions on the opening lap following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon eliminated of contention by a damaged nose section

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

The Australian finished after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the entire race on the durable compound after stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It was a disappointing race from pretty much beginning to end in certain respects," Piastri informed race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Just try to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need several of things to go my way at this stage to take the title, but all I can do is make myself in the ideal situation to capitalise if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh place at the flag, his Williams car missing the speed to compete with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, after his impressive performance to start in third in the wet

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

The seven-time title winner made a flying start, up to 13th on the opening circuit and continued to move forwards

He got stuck in a DRS train with a group of other cars but was could employ his electric start to salvage a championship point following the worst qualifying performance of his career