Lando Norris Advances Closer to Championship as Verstappen Secures Vegas Grand Prix Win

McLaren's Lando Norris moved nearer to a maiden championship with second place in the Vegas race 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 thirty points going into the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will secure the title in the Qatar as long as he doesn't surrender over five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the opening stages of the championship, has failed to finish 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 remains a positive outcome to secure second. I've got to congratulate Verstappen and his team"

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

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

• Norris continued his momentum towards the title losing the win to Max Verstappen

• Piastri's difficult run of form continued as his title hopes diminish

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

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

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

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

That allowed Verstappen to drive past into the first place while the British driver lost second place to George Russell

During two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, including at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen gradually established dominance on the event

Russell made an early tire change for the more durable compound, but Lando Norris and Verstappen remained on track

The McLaren driver pitted five laps after the Mercedes and Max Verstappen 10

Verstappen was could rejoin still in the lead, Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull despite his fresher tyres

Norris returned after Russell from his stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tires to warm up, quickly closed his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes driver and overtook into runner-up position on lap 34

Norris asked his race engineer how to run the rest of his event, essentially questioning whether he should settle for second place or challenge for the lead

He was told to "chase down Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Verstappen was readily could repel Lando's attacks, and in the final laps the margin increased significantly as the McLaren car began to suffer a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Even with dropping almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was could defend against Russell because of the size of the lead he had built while chasing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the championship - only one less than both McLaren drivers - was taken in emphatic style and keeps him in title contention, at least theoretically, even if he needs problems for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to maximise everything we've have," Verstappen stated

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

Piastri began in fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit after being clouted by Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of the battle by a broken nose section

He followed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the Strip but lost position to Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the tire change phase

The Australian ended up behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the entire race on hard tyres following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second time penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It was a frustrating race from essentially start to finish in certain respects," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Asked about how he would approach the remaining events, he commented: "Simply try to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously need several of factors to favor me now to take the title, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, insufficiently close to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams car lacking the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, after his heroic showing to qualify in third in the wet

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

The seven-time champion executed a strong getaway, rising to 13th on the first lap and continued to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a bunch of other cars but was could use his electric start to salvage a championship point following the worst qualifying performance of his racing life