Lando Norris Moves Closer to Championship as Verstappen Takes Vegas F1 Race Win

The McLaren Lando Norris moved closer to a maiden championship with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

Norris now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth after the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will secure the title in the desert as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

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

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

"It's still a positive outcome to secure second place. I've got to praise Max and Red Bull"

After 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:

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

• Piastri's challenging performance streak persisted as his title hopes wane

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

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for tenth place following starting at the rear

At the start, Lando Norris was true to his claim that he was "not here not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his advantage from starting first from Max Verstappen

But after an aggressive cut in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Verstappen's challenge on the inner line, Norris miscalculated his braking point and ran deep into the turn

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

Through two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, featuring at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided 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 Lando Norris and Verstappen stayed out

Norris pitted five laps after the Mercedes driver and Verstappen 10

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

Norris returned behind Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to allow his tyres to warm up, quickly reduced his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

The British driver asked his engineer how to manage the rest of his event, effectively asking whether he should accept second or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "go and get Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Verstappen was readily could repel Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the margin increased significantly as the McLaren car started to suffer a technical issue which has thus far remained unidentified

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

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - just one less than the two McLaren teammates - was achieved in dominant fashion and maintains him in title contention, at minimum theoretically, even if he requires issues for Lando Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It's still a significant margin, we consistently attempt to maximise everything we've have," Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will try to win the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we finish, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Piastri began in fifth but lost two places on the opening lap following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of contention by a broken front wing

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

The Australian finished after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the entire race on hard tyres following pitting during the initial VSC, but was given a five-second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not clearly visible on replays

"It was a frustrating race from essentially beginning to end in some ways," Oscar Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Just try to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need several of things to favor me now to win, but my only option is make myself in the ideal situation to capitalise if circumstances change"

Leclerc hung on in sixth position, insufficiently close to gain from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh at the finish, his Williams missing the pace to challenge with the top teams in the dry, following his impressive showing to qualify third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, rising to thirteenth on the first lap and proceeded to move forwards

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could use his electric start to rescue a point after the poorest qualifying performance of his career