Lando Norris Edges Nearer to Championship as Max Verstappen Takes Las Vegas F1 Race Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped nearer to his first championship with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Norris currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will claim the title in the Qatar as long as he doesn't surrender more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

Piastri, so impressive in the first half of the championship, has failed to finish on the top three for six races

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

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

Following Qatar, the last event of the championship follows in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

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

• Norris maintained his progress towards the title despite the victory to Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's challenging performance streak continued as his championship chances wane

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

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a point for 10th following beginning at the back

At the start, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he fought hard to defend his lead from pole position from Verstappen

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

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

During two VSC periods for some early incidents, featuring at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the race

George Russell undertook an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Verstappen stayed out

The McLaren driver pitted five circuits following the Mercedes and Max Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was could return still in the first place, Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull car despite his newer rubber

Lando Norris returned behind Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to allow his tyres to settle, soon reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into second place on lap 34

Norris inquired his race engineer how to manage the rest of his event, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "chase down Max" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Max Verstappen was readily able to defend against Norris' challenges, and in the closing stages the margin extended substantially as the McLaren started to experience a technical issue which has so far not been defined

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

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - only one behind the two McLaren teammates - was taken in dominant fashion and maintains him in championship contention, at least mathematically, although he needs problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It's still a significant margin, we always try to maximise everything we've got," Verstappen stated

"In upcoming weekends we will try to win the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Oscar Piastri started fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit following being hit by Lawson, who was soon eliminated of contention by a damaged front wing

He trailed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but also position to Leclerc, who he was able to repass during the tire change phase

The Australian finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the entire race on hard tyres following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five-second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It proved to be a disappointing race from essentially start to finish in certain respects," Piastri informed race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would approach the remaining events, he said: "Just attempt to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously need several of factors to favor me at this stage to win, but all I can do is make myself in the best position to capitalise if circumstances change"

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

Isack Hadjar took eighth before Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

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

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was able to use his electric start to salvage a championship point after the worst qualifying session of his career