Norris Edges Nearer to Title as Verstappen Takes Las Vegas Grand Prix Win

McLaren's 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 teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points heading to the second-to-last 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

Piastri, so strong in the first half of the championship, has not finished on the podium for six races

"Verstappen had a strong performance. I made the mistake early on and was overly aggressive on that opening corner," said Norris

"It's still a good result to secure second place. I've got to congratulate Verstappen and Red Bull"

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

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

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

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

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

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

From the beginning, Lando Norris was true to his claim that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he fought hard to protect his lead from pole position from Max Verstappen

However following an forceful move in front of Verstappen to block the Verstappen's attack on the inner line, Norris misjudged his braking zone and ran deep into the turn

This allowed Max Verstappen to overtake into the lead while Norris also the runner-up spot to Russell

During two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually established dominance on the race

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

The McLaren driver stopped five laps after the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was could rejoin still in the lead, Russell having been unable to close in on the Red Bull even with his newer rubber

Norris returned behind Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to let his tires to warm up, soon closed his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver inquired his race engineer how to run the rest of his event, effectively questioning whether he should accept second place or attack

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Verstappen was readily could defend against Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the gap extended substantially as the McLaren car began to suffer a technical issue which has thus far remained unidentified

Even with dropping almost three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was could hold off Russell because of the size of the lead he had built while chasing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the championship - just one behind both McLaren drivers - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, although he requires problems for Lando Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It's still a big gap, we always try to optimize everything we've got," Verstappen said

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

Oscar Piastri began fifth but lost two places on the first circuit after being hit by Lawson, who was soon eliminated of contention by a damaged nose section

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

The Australian finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on the durable compound following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five second time penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It was a disappointing race from pretty much beginning to end in certain respects," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Simply attempt to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly require several of factors to favor me now to win, but my only option is make myself in the ideal situation to capitalise if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh place at the finish, his Williams car missing the speed to compete with the top teams in the dry conditions, following his impressive performance to start in third in the wet

Isack Hadjar secured eighth place ahead of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion executed a strong getaway, rising to thirteenth on the opening circuit and continued to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a bunch of other cars but was able to use his electric start to salvage a point following the poorest qualifying session of his career