Norris Advances Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Secures Las Vegas Grand Prix Win

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped nearer to his first championship with second place in the Vegas race following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

Norris now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

Norris will secure the championship in the Qatar as long as he doesn't surrender over five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the first half of the championship, has failed to finish on the top three for six consecutive events

"Max had a strong performance. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that first turn," stated Norris

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

Following Qatar, the last event of the season takes place in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

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

• Lando Norris continued his progress towards the title losing the win to Verstappen

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

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

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for tenth place following beginning at the back

From the beginning, Norris was true to his statement that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he fought hard to protect his lead from starting first from Verstappen

But following an forceful move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Dutchman's attack on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

That enabled Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while the British driver lost the runner-up spot to George Russell

During two virtual safety cars 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 race

George Russell undertook an early pit stop for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen remained on track

Norris stopped five circuits after the Mercedes and Max Verstappen ten laps later

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

Norris rejoined after George Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to let his tyres to warm up, quickly reduced his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and overtook into runner-up position on lap 34

Norris asked his race engineer how to run the remainder of his race, effectively asking whether he should accept second place or attack

He was instructed to "go and get Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Max Verstappen was readily could repel Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the margin increased significantly as the McLaren began to suffer a technical issue which has thus far remained unidentified

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

The Verstappen's sixth win of the season - only one behind both McLaren drivers - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in championship contention, at least theoretically, although he needs issues for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to optimize all we've got," Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will try to win the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Piastri began in fifth but dropped two positions on the opening lap following being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was quickly taken out of contention by a broken front wing

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

Piastri ended up after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the whole event on the durable compound following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not clearly visible on replays

"It was a disappointing race from pretty much beginning to end in certain respects," Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Simply try to put myself in the best position I can. I clearly require quite a lot of factors to favor me now to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the best position to capitalise if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams lacking the speed to compete with the top teams in the dry, following his impressive showing to qualify in third in the wet weather

Hadjar took eighth ahead of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion executed a strong getaway, up to thirteenth on the opening circuit and continued to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a bunch of other cars but was able to employ his strong beginning to rescue a point following the poorest qualifying performance of his racing life