Norris Moves Nearer to Title as Max Verstappen Secures Las Vegas F1 Race Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped closer to a maiden world title with runner-up position in the Vegas race following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

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

Norris will claim the championship in the Qatar as long as he does not lose over five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so strong in the first half of the season, has failed to finish on the podium for six races

"Max had a good race. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that opening corner," stated Norris

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

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

The key stories of among Formula 1's most high-profile races were:

• Norris continued his progress towards the championship losing the victory to Max Verstappen

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

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

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

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

But following an forceful cut in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Verstappen's attack on the inner line, Norris misjudged his braking point and went too deep into the corner

That enabled Verstappen to drive past into the first place while Norris lost second place to George Russell

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

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

Norris pitted five laps following the Mercedes and Verstappen ten laps later

The Red Bull driver was able to rejoin still in the first place, George Russell having been unable to close in on the Red Bull even with his fresher tyres

Norris returned behind Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to allow his tires to settle, quickly reduced his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris asked his engineer how to manage the rest of his event, essentially asking whether he should settle for second place 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 could defend against Lando's attacks, and in the final laps the gap extended significantly as the McLaren car started to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far remained unidentified

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

The Verstappen's sixth win of the season - only one behind the two McLaren teammates - was achieved in dominant fashion and maintains him in title contention, at minimum theoretically, although he needs issues for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It remains a big gap, we always try to optimize all we've have," Max Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will try to take victory in the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we finish, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Piastri started in fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit following being clouted by Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of the battle by a broken nose section

He trailed Liam Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but also position to Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the tire change phase

Piastri finished after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the entire race on the durable compound following stopping during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five-second time penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It proved to be a frustrating race from essentially beginning to end in some ways," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Just attempt to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly require quite a lot of things to favor me now to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if circumstances change"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, insufficiently close to gain from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams lacking the speed to compete with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, after his impressive showing to qualify third in the wet weather

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

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

He got stuck in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was able to employ his strong beginning to salvage a point after the poorest qualifying performance of his career