Lando Norris Advances Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Takes Las Vegas F1 Race Win

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

Norris now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will claim the championship in the Qatar as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so strong in the opening stages of the championship, has not finished on the top three for six races

"Verstappen had a strong performance. I erred early on and was too punchy on that opening corner," stated Norris

"It remains a good result to secure second. I've got to praise Max and Red Bull"

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

The main developments of among Formula 1's most prestigious races included:

• Norris continued his momentum towards the title losing the win to Verstappen

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

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

• Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for 10th after starting at the rear

From the beginning, Norris was true to his statement that he was "not present not to take risks" as he fought hard to defend his lead from pole position from Max Verstappen

But after an forceful move in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Dutchman's attack on the inner line, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking point and ran deep into the corner

This enabled Max Verstappen to drive past into the lead while Norris also second place to George Russell

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

George Russell made an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Norris and Max Verstappen remained on track

The McLaren driver pitted five laps following the Mercedes driver and Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was could rejoin still in the lead, Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull car despite his fresher tyres

Lando Norris returned behind Russell from his pit stop but following a several careful circuits to allow his tyres to settle, quickly reduced his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes driver and overtook into runner-up position on lap 34

Norris inquired his engineer how to manage the rest of his event, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second or challenge for the lead

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Verstappen was readily could repel Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the gap extended significantly as the McLaren car began to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far remained unidentified

Even with losing almost three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was able to hold off George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had built while chasing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the championship - just one behind both McLaren drivers - was taken in dominant fashion and maintains him in title contention, at least theoretically, although he needs problems for Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

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

"During the coming events we will attempt to take victory in the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we finish, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Oscar Piastri began in fifth but lost two places on the first circuit after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon eliminated of the battle by a damaged nose section

He trailed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before overtaking him on the Strip but lost position to Charles Leclerc, who he was could repass during the tire change phase

Piastri finished behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the entire race on hard tyres following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second time penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

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

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Just attempt to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need several of things to favor me now to take the title, but my only option is make myself in the ideal situation to take advantage if something happens"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams car lacking the speed to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, following his impressive performance to qualify third in the wet weather

Isack Hadjar secured eighth before Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time title winner executed a flying start, up to 13th on the first lap and continued to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was able to employ his electric start to salvage a point following the worst qualifying session of his racing life