Norris Moves Nearer to Title as Verstappen Claims Las Vegas Grand Prix Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped closer to his first championship with second place in the Vegas race following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points going into the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

Norris will win the championship in the desert as long as he does not lose over five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

Piastri, so impressive in the first half of the championship, has not finished on the top three for six races

"Max had a good race. I erred at the beginning and was too punchy on that first turn," stated Norris

"It's still a good result to secure second place. I've got to congratulate Max and his team"

After Qatar, the final race of the season follows in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

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

• Norris continued his progress towards the title despite the win to Max Verstappen

• Piastri's challenging run of form persisted as his title hopes diminish

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

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for tenth place following starting at the back

From the beginning, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his advantage from pole position from Verstappen

But after an forceful cut in front of Verstappen to block the Verstappen's challenge on the inner line, Norris miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

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

Through two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, featuring at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event

George Russell undertook an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Verstappen remained on track

Norris pitted five circuits following the Mercedes and Verstappen ten laps later

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

Norris returned behind George Russell from his stop but after a few cautious laps to allow his tires to settle, quickly closed his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and overtook into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris asked his race engineer how to run the remainder of his race, essentially asking whether he should settle for second or attack

He was instructed to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Max Verstappen was easily could repel Norris' challenges, and in the final laps the gap increased significantly as the McLaren began to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far remained unidentified

Even with dropping almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was able to defend against Russell because of the size of the advantage he had established while chasing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the championship - just one less than the two McLaren drivers - was taken in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at least theoretically, although he needs problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It remains a big gap, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've got," Max Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will try to win the event 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 lost two places on the opening lap following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly taken out of contention by a broken nose section

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

Piastri ended up behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the entire race on the durable compound after pitting during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not clearly visible on replays

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

Asked about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Simply attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously require quite a lot of things to favor me now to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to capitalise if something happens"

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

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

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

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