Norris Advances Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Takes Las Vegas Grand Prix Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris moved nearer to a maiden world title with second place in the Vegas race following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

Norris now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth after the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points going into the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will secure 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 failed to finish on the podium for six races

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

"It remains a positive outcome to secure second place. I've got to congratulate Max and Red Bull"

After Qatar, the last event of the championship follows in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

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

• Lando Norris continued his progress towards the championship losing the victory to Max Verstappen

• Piastri's challenging performance streak continued as his championship chances wane

• A superb win for Max Verstappen to keep him in the title fight

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for 10th after starting at the back

From the beginning, Lando Norris was faithful to his claim that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he fought hard to protect his advantage from pole position from Max Verstappen

But following an forceful move in front of Verstappen to head off the Verstappen's challenge on the inside, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking point and ran deep into the corner

That allowed Max Verstappen to overtake into the lead while Norris also second place to Russell

During two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, including at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event

Russell made an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Norris and Max Verstappen remained on track

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

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

Lando Norris returned after George Russell from his pit stop but following a few cautious laps to let his tyres to settle, quickly closed his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and swept by into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

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 told to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was readily could defend against Lando's challenges, and in the closing stages the margin increased significantly as the McLaren car started to suffer a mechanical problem which has thus far remained unidentified

Even with losing nearly three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was able to hold off Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the season - only one less than both McLaren teammates - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in title contention, at least theoretically, even if he needs issues for Lando Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

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

"In upcoming weekends we will try to win the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Piastri began fifth but dropped two places on the first circuit following being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was quickly 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 position to Leclerc, who he was could repass during the tire change phase

The Australian ended up after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on hard tyres after pitting 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 proved to be a disappointing event from pretty much start to finish in some ways," Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Simply try to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously require several of things to favor me at this stage to take the title, but all I can do is make myself in the best position to capitalise if something happens"

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 missing the speed to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, after his impressive performance to start in third in the wet

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

The seven-time title winner executed a strong getaway, rising to 13th on the opening circuit and continued to move forwards

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a group of other cars but was could employ his electric start to rescue a point following the worst qualifying session of his career