Norris Advances Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Secures Vegas F1 Race 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 fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

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

Piastri, so strong in the opening stages of the season, has failed to finish on the podium for six consecutive events

"Max had a good race. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that first turn," said Norris

"It remains a positive outcome to get second. I've got to praise Verstappen and his team"

After Qatar, the final race of the championship follows in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

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

• Lando Norris maintained his momentum towards the title despite the victory to Max Verstappen

• Piastri's difficult performance streak continued as his title hopes wane

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

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

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

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

This enabled Max Verstappen to overtake into the first place while Norris lost second place to Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, including at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Verstappen slowly established dominance on the event

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

Norris stopped five laps following the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was could return still in the lead, George Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull despite his fresher tyres

Lando Norris rejoined behind George Russell from his stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tires to settle, quickly reduced his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

Norris inquired his race engineer how to manage the rest of his event, essentially questioning whether he should settle for second or attack

He was told to "chase down Max" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Max Verstappen was easily could repel Norris' challenges, and in the closing stages the gap extended significantly as the McLaren car began to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far not been defined

Even with losing almost three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was could defend against George Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had built while chasing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the season - just one less than both McLaren teammates - was achieved in emphatic style and maintains him in title contention, at minimum theoretically, even if he needs problems for Lando Norris in the final two events to pass him

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

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to win the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of the entire team"

Piastri began in fifth but lost two places on the opening lap after being clouted by Lawson, who was soon taken out of the battle by a broken front wing

He trailed Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but also position to Charles Leclerc, who he was able to repass during the pit-stop period

Piastri ended up after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on hard tyres after stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It was a frustrating race from essentially start to finish in some ways," Piastri told race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he commented: "Simply try to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly need several of things to favor me at this stage to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Leclerc hung on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams missing the pace to compete with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, following his impressive performance to qualify in third in the wet

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

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

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a group of other cars but was could use his electric start to rescue a championship point following the poorest qualifying session of his racing life