Norris Moves Closer to Championship as Verstappen Secures Vegas Grand Prix Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped closer to his first championship with runner-up position in the Vegas race following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

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

Piastri, so strong in the opening stages of the championship, has not finished on the podium for six races

"Max had a strong performance. I erred early on and was overly aggressive on that first turn," stated Norris

"It's still a good result to get second. I've got to praise Verstappen and Red Bull"

After Qatar, the final race of the championship follows in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

The key stories of one of Formula 1's most prestigious races were:

• Lando Norris maintained his momentum towards the title losing the victory to Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's difficult performance streak continued as his championship chances diminish

• A excellent win for Max Verstappen to maintain him in the title fight

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

At the start, Norris was true to his claim that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to protect his advantage from pole position from Verstappen

But following an forceful cut in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Dutchman's challenge on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking point and ran deep into the turn

This enabled Max Verstappen to overtake into the lead while the British driver also the runner-up spot to George Russell

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

George Russell undertook an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen remained on track

The McLaren driver stopped five circuits after the Mercedes driver and Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was able to rejoin still in the lead, George Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull car despite his fresher tyres

Lando Norris returned after George Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to allow his tyres to warm up, soon closed his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and swept by into second place on lap 34

Norris asked his race engineer how to run the rest of his race, essentially questioning whether he should settle for second or challenge for the lead

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was easily could repel Norris' challenges, and in the closing stages the margin extended substantially as the McLaren began to experience a technical issue which has thus far not been defined

Even with losing nearly three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was could hold off Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - just one less than both McLaren drivers - was taken in dominant fashion and keeps him in championship contention, at least mathematically, even if he requires problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It's still a significant margin, we consistently attempt to optimize everything we've have," Max Verstappen stated

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to take victory in the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Oscar Piastri started in fifth but dropped two positions on the first circuit after being clouted by Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of the battle by a broken front wing

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

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

"It proved to be a frustrating race from pretty much start to finish in some ways," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would approach the final two races, he said: "Simply try to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously require quite a lot of things to favor me at this stage to take the title, but all I can do is make myself in the best position to capitalise if something happens"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth place, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh at the finish, his Williams lacking the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, after his heroic performance to start in third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time title winner made a flying start, rising to 13th on the first lap and proceeded to advance positions

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a group of other cars but was could use his electric start to salvage a championship point after the poorest qualifying session of his career