Lando Norris Edges Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Takes Las Vegas Grand Prix Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris moved closer to a maiden world title with second place in the Vegas race following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Norris currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will win the title in the Qatar as long as he doesn't surrender more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so strong in the first half of the championship, has failed to finish on the podium for six races

"Max had a strong performance. I erred early on and was overly aggressive on that opening corner," stated Norris

"It remains a good result to secure second place. I've got to praise Max and his team"

After Qatar, the last event of the championship takes place in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

The key stories of one of Formula 1's most prestigious races included:

• Lando Norris maintained his momentum towards the championship losing the win to Verstappen

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

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

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a point for 10th following beginning at the rear

At the start, Norris was true to his claim that he was "not here not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his lead from pole position from Max Verstappen

However following an forceful cut in front of Verstappen to block the Dutchman's attack on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the turn

That enabled Verstappen to drive past into the lead while the British driver also second place to George Russell

Through two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, including at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the event

George Russell undertook an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Norris and Verstappen stayed out

Norris stopped five laps after the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

Verstappen was could return still in the first place, George Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull despite his fresher tyres

Lando Norris returned after Russell from his stop but following a few cautious laps to allow his tires to warm up, 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, effectively asking whether he should accept second place or attack

He was instructed to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was readily could repel Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the margin extended significantly as the McLaren car began to experience a technical issue which has so far not been defined

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was able to defend against Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had established while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the championship - only one less than the two McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, even if he requires issues for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

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

"During the coming events we will try to take victory in the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Oscar Piastri started fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit following being clouted by Lawson, who was soon taken out of the battle by a damaged front wing

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

The Australian finished behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the whole event on the durable compound following pitting during the initial VSC, but was given a five second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not clearly visible on replays

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

Questioned about how he would approach the remaining events, he said: "Just try to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously need quite a lot of things to go my way at this stage to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to take advantage if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth position, not close enough to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams car lacking the speed to compete with the leading outfits in the dry, after his impressive performance to start in third in the wet

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

The seven-time title winner made a strong getaway, rising to 13th on the first lap and proceeded to move forwards

He got stuck in a DRS train with a group of other cars but was could employ his electric start to salvage a championship point after the poorest qualifying session of his career