Lando Norris Advances Nearer to Championship as Verstappen Secures Vegas F1 Race Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped closer to a maiden world title with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

The Briton will secure 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 strong performance. I erred at the beginning and was overly aggressive on that opening corner," stated Norris

"It's still a positive outcome to get second place. I've got to praise Max and his team"

After 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:

• Norris continued his momentum towards the championship despite the win to Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's challenging performance streak persisted as his title hopes wane

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

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for tenth place following starting at the rear

At the start, Lando Norris was true to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he fought hard to defend his advantage from starting first from Verstappen

However after an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Verstappen's attack on the inner line, Norris miscalculated his braking zone and went too deep into the corner

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

Through two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, including at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually established dominance on the event

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

The McLaren driver pitted five laps following the Mercedes and Max Verstappen ten laps later

Verstappen was could rejoin still in the lead, Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull despite his newer rubber

Lando Norris returned behind Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to allow his tires to warm up, quickly closed his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

The British driver asked his race engineer how to manage the remainder of his race, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second place or attack

He was told to "chase down Max" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily able to repel Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the gap increased significantly as the McLaren started to experience a technical issue which has thus far not been defined

Even with losing nearly three seconds a circuit, Norris was could hold off Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had built while pursuing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the season - just one behind the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in dominant fashion and maintains him in title contention, at minimum theoretically, even if he needs issues for Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It's still a big gap, we always try to maximise all we've got," Max Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will attempt to take victory in 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 after being clouted by Lawson, who was soon taken out of contention by a damaged front wing

He trailed Liam Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Strip but also position to Charles Leclerc, who he was able to repass during the tire change phase

The Australian finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the entire race on the durable compound following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It was a frustrating race from essentially beginning to end in certain respects," Oscar Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Just try to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly need quite a lot of factors to go my way at this stage to win, but my only option is make myself in the ideal situation to take advantage if something happens"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth place, insufficiently close to gain from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh place at the finish, his Williams missing the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, after his impressive performance to start in third in the wet

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

The seven-time title winner executed a strong getaway, rising to thirteenth on the opening circuit and proceeded to move forwards

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was able to use his electric start to rescue a championship point following the worst qualifying session of his career