Lando Norris Moves Nearer to Championship as Max Verstappen Claims Las Vegas F1 Race Win

McLaren's Lando Norris moved closer to a maiden championship with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place after Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

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

Piastri, so strong in the first half of the championship, has not finished on the podium for six consecutive events

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

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

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

The key stories of among Formula 1's most prestigious races were:

• Norris maintained his momentum towards the championship losing the win to Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's difficult performance streak persisted as his championship chances wane

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

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

From the beginning, Lando Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not present not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his advantage from starting first from Max Verstappen

However following an forceful cut in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Dutchman's challenge on the inside, Norris miscalculated his braking point and ran deep into the turn

That allowed Verstappen to drive past into the lead while the British driver also the runner-up spot to George Russell

Through two VSC periods for some early incidents, featuring at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the race

Russell undertook an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen stayed out

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

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

Lando Norris returned after George Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to allow his tires to settle, quickly closed his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris asked his race engineer how to run the rest of his race, effectively questioning whether he should accept second place or attack

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was readily could defend against Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the gap extended substantially as the McLaren car started to suffer a technical issue which has thus far not been defined

Even with dropping nearly three seconds a lap, Norris was could hold off George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while chasing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the season - just one behind the two McLaren teammates - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in title contention, at least mathematically, although he requires issues for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It's still a significant margin, we always try to maximise everything we've got," Max Verstappen said

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

Piastri began in fifth but dropped two places on the opening lap after being clouted by Lawson, who was soon taken out of the battle by a broken front wing

He followed Liam Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Strip but lost out to Charles Leclerc, who he was able to repass during the pit-stop period

The Australian finished behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the whole event on the durable compound following stopping during the initial VSC, but was given a five second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It proved to be a frustrating event from essentially beginning to end in some ways," Piastri told race broadcasters

Asked about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Simply try to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously require quite a lot of things to go my way now to take the title, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the best position to capitalise if something happens"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth place, insufficiently close to gain from Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh place at the flag, his Williams car lacking the pace to challenge with the top teams in the dry, after his impressive performance to qualify third in the wet weather

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

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

He got stuck in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was could use his electric start to salvage a championship point after the worst qualifying performance of his racing life