Norris Advances Nearer to Championship as Max Verstappen Claims Las Vegas Grand Prix Win

The McLaren Lando Norris moved closer to his first world title with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

Norris currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place after the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points going into the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

The Briton will claim the championship in the Qatar as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

Piastri, so impressive in the first half of the championship, has not finished on the top three for six races

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

"It remains a positive outcome to get second place. I've got to congratulate Max and Red Bull"

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

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

• Norris maintained his momentum towards the title despite the win to Verstappen

• Piastri's challenging performance streak persisted as his championship chances diminish

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

• Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for tenth place after 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 protect his lead from starting first from Verstappen

However after an forceful cut in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Dutchman's attack on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking point and went too deep into the corner

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

During two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, featuring at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the race

George Russell undertook an early tire change for the more durable compound, but Norris and Verstappen remained on track

Norris stopped five circuits after the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

Verstappen was able to rejoin still in the lead, Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull even with his newer rubber

Lando Norris rejoined after George Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to allow his tires to settle, quickly closed his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes driver and swept by into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris inquired his engineer how to run the remainder of his race, effectively questioning whether he should accept second or challenge for the lead

He was told to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Max Verstappen was readily able to repel Norris' challenges, and in the final laps the margin extended significantly as the McLaren began to experience a technical issue which has thus far remained unidentified

Despite dropping almost three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was could hold off Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while chasing Max Verstappen

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

"It's still a significant margin, we consistently attempt to maximise everything we've have," Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will try to take victory in the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Oscar Piastri started fifth but dropped two places on the first circuit after being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of contention by a damaged nose section

He followed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but also out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could repass during the pit-stop period

The Australian ended up after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the whole event on hard tyres after pitting during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It proved to be a frustrating event from pretty much start to finish in certain respects," Piastri told race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Just try to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need several of things to go my way now to win, but all I can do is make myself in the ideal situation to take advantage if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth place, insufficiently close to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh place at the flag, his Williams missing the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, following his impressive performance to qualify in third in the wet

Hadjar secured eighth place before the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

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

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a bunch of other cars but was could employ his electric start to rescue a championship point following the poorest qualifying performance of his career