Lando Norris Advances Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Claims Las Vegas F1 Race Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris moved nearer to his first world title with second place in the Vegas race following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

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

Norris will secure the title in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

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

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

"It remains a good result to secure second. I've got to congratulate Max and his team"

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

The key stories of among Formula 1's most prestigious races included:

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

• Oscar Piastri's difficult run of form persisted as his title hopes diminish

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

• Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton securing a single point for 10th following starting at the back

At the start, Lando Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not present not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to protect his advantage from starting first from Max Verstappen

However after an aggressive move in front of Verstappen to head off the Verstappen's challenge on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

That enabled Max Verstappen to drive past into the lead while Norris lost the runner-up spot to Russell

During two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, featuring at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the race

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

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

Verstappen was could return still in the first place, Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull despite his fresher tyres

Lando Norris rejoined after George Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tyres to warm up, quickly reduced his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into second place on lap 34

The British driver asked his race engineer how to manage the remainder of his event, essentially asking whether he should accept second or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Max Verstappen was readily able to repel Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the margin extended significantly as the McLaren car started to experience a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Even with losing almost three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was could defend against Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had built while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - only one behind both McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in title contention, at minimum mathematically, even if he needs problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It remains a big gap, we always try to optimize everything we've have," Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will try to win the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of the entire team"

Piastri started in fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit after being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was soon taken out of the battle by a broken nose section

He followed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Strip but also out to Leclerc, who he was able to repass during the pit-stop period

The Australian finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the entire race on the durable compound after stopping during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five second time penalty for a start-line violation, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It proved to be a frustrating event from pretty much beginning to end in certain respects," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Simply try to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously require several of things to go my way now to win, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if something happens"

Leclerc hung on in sixth place, insufficiently close to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh place at the flag, his Williams missing the speed to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, following his impressive showing to start third in the wet

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

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

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