Norris Edges Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Secures Vegas F1 Race Win

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped closer to a maiden championship with runner-up position in the Vegas race behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place after the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will claim the title in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender over 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 top three for six consecutive events

"Max had a good race. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that opening corner," stated Norris

"It remains a positive outcome to get second. I've got to praise Verstappen and Red Bull"

After Qatar, the final race of the season takes place in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

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

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

• Oscar Piastri's challenging run of form continued as his title hopes wane

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

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for tenth place following beginning at the back

From the beginning, Norris was true to his claim that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he fought hard to defend his advantage from starting first from Verstappen

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

This enabled Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while Norris also the runner-up spot to Russell

Through two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, including at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Verstappen gradually established dominance on the event

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

Norris pitted five laps following the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen ten laps later

Verstappen was could rejoin still in the first place, George Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull even with his newer rubber

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

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

He was instructed to "chase down Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Verstappen was easily could defend against Lando's attacks, and in the final laps the gap increased substantially as the McLaren began to suffer a technical issue which has so far not been defined

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a lap, Norris was able to hold off Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the season - only one behind the two McLaren drivers - was taken in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, although he requires problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It remains a significant margin, we always try to maximise all we've got," Max Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to take victory in the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of the entire team"

Oscar Piastri started in fifth but dropped two positions on the first circuit after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon taken out of the battle by a broken front wing

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

Piastri finished after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the whole event on the durable compound after pitting during the initial VSC, but was given a five second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It was a frustrating race from pretty much start to finish in certain respects," Oscar Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he commented: "Simply try to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly require several of factors to favor me now to take the title, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh at the flag, his Williams lacking the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, following his heroic showing to qualify third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, up to thirteenth on the first lap and proceeded to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a bunch of additional vehicles but was able to employ his electric start to salvage a championship point after the poorest qualifying performance of his racing life