Norris Moves Nearer to Championship as Max Verstappen Secures Vegas F1 Race Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris moved closer to a maiden championship with second place in the Vegas race behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

Norris will secure the title in the Qatar 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 podium for six consecutive events

"Verstappen had a good race. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that first turn," said Norris

"It remains a good result to get second place. I've got to congratulate Max and Red Bull"

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

The main developments of one of Formula 1's most high-profile races included:

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

• Oscar Piastri's difficult run of form continued as his championship chances diminish

• A superb 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 tenth place after beginning at the rear

At the start, Lando Norris was true to his claim that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he fought hard to protect his lead from starting first from Max Verstappen

However following an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to block the Verstappen's challenge on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

This enabled Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while Norris lost second place to George Russell

Through two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the event

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

Norris stopped five laps following the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was could rejoin still in the first place, Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull car even with his newer rubber

Lando Norris rejoined behind Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to allow his tyres to settle, soon reduced his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver inquired his engineer how to run the rest of his race, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second or challenge for the lead

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily could defend against Lando's attacks, and in the closing stages the gap increased substantially as the McLaren started to suffer a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Despite losing almost three seconds a lap, Norris was able to defend against Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had built while chasing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the season - just one less than the two McLaren teammates - was taken in dominant fashion and keeps him in title contention, at least theoretically, although he requires issues for Lando Norris in the final two events to pass him

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

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

Oscar Piastri started fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly taken out of contention by a damaged nose section

He followed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but lost out to Charles Leclerc, who he was able to repass during the tire change phase

Piastri ended up behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost 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 violation, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It was a frustrating race from pretty much start to finish in some ways," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Asked about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Just try to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously need several of factors to go my way now to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth position, insufficiently close to benefit from Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh at the finish, his Williams missing the speed to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, after his impressive showing to qualify third in the wet

Hadjar took eighth ahead of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

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

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of other cars but was able to employ his strong beginning to salvage a championship point after the worst qualifying performance of his career