Norris Edges Nearer to Title as Verstappen Takes Vegas F1 Race Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris moved nearer to his first world title with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

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

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

The Australian driver, so impressive in the first half of the championship, has failed to finish on the podium for six consecutive events

"Max had a strong performance. I made the mistake early on and was overly aggressive on that first turn," stated Norris

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

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

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

• Norris maintained his momentum towards the championship despite the victory to Verstappen

• Piastri's difficult performance streak persisted as his championship chances wane

• A excellent win for Verstappen to keep him in the championship battle

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton securing a single point for 10th following starting at the rear

At the start, Norris was true to his statement that he was "not here not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to protect his lead from starting first from Verstappen

However following an forceful cut in front of Verstappen to head off the Dutchman's challenge on the inner line, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking point and ran deep into the turn

That enabled Verstappen to overtake into the lead while Norris also the runner-up spot to George Russell

During two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, including at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Verstappen gradually established dominance on the event

George Russell undertook an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Norris and Verstappen stayed out

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

Verstappen was could return still in the first place, George Russell having been unable to close in on the Red Bull car despite his fresher tyres

Lando Norris returned behind Russell from his stop but after a several careful circuits to allow his tyres to warm up, soon closed his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into runner-up position on lap 34

The British driver asked his race engineer how to manage the remainder of his race, effectively asking whether he should settle for second or attack

He was told to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Verstappen was easily could repel Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the gap extended substantially as the McLaren started to experience a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Even with dropping almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was able to hold off George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the championship - just one less than both McLaren drivers - was taken in dominant fashion and maintains him in championship contention, at least theoretically, although he requires issues for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to optimize all we've have," Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will try to win the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Oscar Piastri started in fifth but dropped two places on the first circuit following being clouted by Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a damaged nose section

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

Piastri finished behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on the durable compound after pitting during the initial VSC, but was given a five second time penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not clearly visible on replays

"It was a frustrating event from pretty much beginning to end in certain respects," Oscar Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would approach the remaining events, he said: "Just try to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly need several of factors to favor me at this stage to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if circumstances change"

Leclerc hung on in sixth place, not close enough to gain from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh place at the finish, his Williams missing the pace to challenge with the top teams in the dry, after his impressive showing to qualify third in the wet

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

The seven-time champion executed a flying start, up to thirteenth on the first lap and proceeded to move forwards

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