Norris Moves Closer to Championship as Verstappen Takes Las Vegas Grand Prix Victory

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

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points going into the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

Norris will secure the championship in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender 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 races

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

"It's still a good result to get second. I've got to congratulate Max and Red Bull"

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

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

• Norris maintained his progress towards the title losing the win to Max Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's challenging run of form continued as his championship chances wane

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

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, following a difficult qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for 10th following starting at the back

At the start, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to protect his advantage from starting first from Max Verstappen

However following an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Dutchman's attack on the inner line, Norris misjudged his braking zone and ran deep into the turn

That allowed Verstappen to drive past into the lead while Norris lost the runner-up spot to Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly established dominance on the event

George Russell made an early pit stop for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Verstappen remained on track

Norris pitted five circuits following the Mercedes driver and Verstappen 10

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

Lando Norris rejoined behind George Russell from his pit stop but following a few cautious laps to allow his tyres to settle, quickly reduced his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver asked his engineer how to manage the remainder of his race, essentially questioning whether he should accept second place or attack

He was instructed to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was readily able to repel Lando's challenges, and in the closing stages the margin increased substantially as the McLaren car began to suffer a mechanical problem which has thus far not been defined

Even with losing almost three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was could defend against Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while chasing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the season - only one less than both McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and maintains him in title contention, at least mathematically, even if he needs issues for Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It's still a significant margin, we consistently attempt to optimize all we've have," Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will attempt to win the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Oscar Piastri started in fifth but lost two positions on the opening lap following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon eliminated of the battle by a broken nose section

He followed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Strip but lost out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the pit-stop period

Piastri finished behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the entire race on hard tyres following 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," Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Just attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously need several of factors to go my way now to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to benefit from Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the finish, his Williams lacking the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, following his heroic performance to start third in the wet

Isack Hadjar took eighth place ahead of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, rising to 13th on the opening circuit and proceeded to move forwards

He got stuck in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was able to use his electric start to rescue a point after the poorest qualifying performance of his racing life