Norris Edges Nearer to Championship as Max Verstappen Takes Las Vegas Grand Prix Victory

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

The British driver now leads 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 next weekend

The Briton will win 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 strong in the opening stages of the season, has not finished on the top three for six consecutive events

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

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

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

The main developments of among Formula 1's most high-profile races included:

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

• Piastri's challenging performance streak continued as his title hopes diminish

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

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

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

But after an forceful move in front of Verstappen to head off the Dutchman's attack on the inner line, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking point and went too deep into the corner

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

Through two VSC periods for some early incidents, including at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event

George Russell made an early tire change for the more durable compound, but Norris and Max Verstappen stayed out

Norris stopped five laps after the Mercedes driver and Verstappen 10

Verstappen was able to return still in the lead, George Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull car even with his newer rubber

Lando Norris rejoined after Russell from his pit stop but following a several careful circuits to let his tires to warm up, soon reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and overtook into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris asked his engineer how to manage the rest of his event, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second place or attack

He was instructed to "chase down Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Verstappen was easily could defend against Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the margin extended substantially as the McLaren car began to suffer a technical issue which has so far not been defined

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Norris was able to defend against George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had built while chasing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the championship - only one less than the two McLaren teammates - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in title contention, at least mathematically, even if he requires problems for Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It's still a significant margin, we always try to optimize everything we've have," Max Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will try to win the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we finish, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Piastri began in fifth but lost two places on the opening lap following being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was soon eliminated of the battle by a damaged front wing

He trailed Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but also out to Leclerc, who he was able to repass during the tire change phase

Piastri finished behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the entire race on the durable compound following pitting 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 replays

"It proved to be a frustrating event from essentially beginning to end in some ways," Piastri informed race broadcasters

Asked about how he would approach the remaining events, he said: "Simply try to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously need several of things to go my way now to win, but all I can do is make myself in the best position to take advantage if circumstances change"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh place at the finish, his Williams car lacking the speed to challenge with the top teams in the dry conditions, after his heroic performance to start third in the wet

Hadjar secured eighth place before Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

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

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could use his strong beginning to salvage a point after the worst qualifying session of his career