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

McLaren's Lando Norris moved closer to a maiden championship with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points going into the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will secure the title in the Qatar as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so strong in the opening stages of the season, has not finished on the top three for six consecutive events

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

"It remains a good result to secure second place. I've got to praise Max and Red Bull"

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

The main developments of among Formula 1's most prestigious races included:

• Lando Norris maintained his progress towards the title despite the win to Verstappen

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

• A superb win for Verstappen to keep him in the title fight

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for 10th after starting at the rear

From the beginning, Lando Norris was faithful to his claim that he was "not here not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to protect his lead from pole position from Verstappen

However following an aggressive cut in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Verstappen's challenge on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

This enabled Verstappen to drive past into the first place while the British driver also second place to George Russell

During two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, including at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the event

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

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

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

Norris returned after George Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to allow his tyres to warm up, quickly closed his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes driver and overtook into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver inquired his engineer how to manage the remainder of his event, effectively asking whether he should accept second place or attack

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Verstappen was easily able to repel Lando's attacks, and in the final laps the margin extended significantly as the McLaren began to experience a technical issue which has thus far not been defined

Even with losing almost three seconds a lap, Norris was able to hold off Russell because of the size of the lead he had built while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the season - just one behind the two McLaren drivers - was taken in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at minimum theoretically, even if he requires problems for Lando Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to maximise everything we've got," Max Verstappen said

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

Oscar Piastri began in fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit following being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was soon taken out of the battle by a broken front wing

He followed Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the 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 competed almost the whole event on the durable compound after pitting during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on replays

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

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Just try to put myself in the best position I can. I clearly need quite a lot of things to go my way at this stage to win, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to take advantage if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to gain from Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh place at the finish, his Williams missing the pace to compete with the leading outfits in the dry, after his heroic performance to start in third in the wet

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

The seven-time title winner executed a strong getaway, rising to 13th on the opening circuit and continued to advance positions

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could employ his electric start to salvage a point following the worst qualifying session of his career