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

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped closer to his first world title with second place in the Vegas race behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place after Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

The Briton will secure the championship in the desert as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

Piastri, so impressive in the opening stages of the season, has failed to finish on the top three for six races

"Max had a strong performance. I erred early on and was overly aggressive on that first turn," said Norris

"It remains a good result to get second. I've got to praise Verstappen and Red Bull"

Following 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 high-profile races included:

• Lando Norris maintained his progress towards the championship losing the victory to Verstappen

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

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

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

At the start, Lando Norris was true to his statement that he was "not present not to take risks" as he fought hard to defend his lead from starting first from Max Verstappen

But following an forceful cut in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Dutchman's challenge on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

That allowed Verstappen to overtake into the lead while the British driver also the runner-up spot to Russell

Through two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually established dominance on the event

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

Norris stopped five circuits after the Mercedes driver and Verstappen ten laps later

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

Lando Norris returned after George Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to allow his tires to settle, quickly closed his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver inquired his engineer how to manage the remainder of his race, essentially asking 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. Max Verstappen was easily could repel Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the gap increased substantially as the McLaren began to suffer a technical issue which has so far not been defined

Despite losing almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was able to defend against Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had built while chasing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - only one less than both McLaren drivers - was taken in dominant fashion and maintains him in title contention, at minimum mathematically, although he requires issues for Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

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

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to win the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Oscar Piastri began fifth but lost two places on the opening lap after being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was soon taken out of the battle by a broken nose section

He followed Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the Strip but lost out to Charles Leclerc, who he was able to overtake again during the pit-stop period

The Australian ended up behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the entire race on the durable compound following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

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

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Just attempt to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need several of things to favor me now to win, but all I can do is make myself in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Leclerc hung on in sixth place, insufficiently close to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh at the flag, his Williams car lacking the pace to compete with the leading outfits in the dry, following his heroic showing to start in third in the wet

Isack Hadjar took eighth ahead of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time champion executed a strong getaway, up to thirteenth on the first lap and continued to advance positions

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a group of other cars but was able to employ his electric start to salvage a point following the poorest qualifying session of his racing life