Norris Edges Closer to Title as Verstappen Takes Las Vegas F1 Race Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris moved closer to his first championship with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth after the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will claim 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 impressive in the first half of the championship, has failed to finish on the podium for six races

"Max had a good race. I made the mistake early on and was overly aggressive on that first turn," said Norris

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

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

The main developments of one of Formula 1's most prestigious races were:

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

• Piastri's challenging run of form persisted as his title hopes wane

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

• Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, following 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 advantage from starting first from Max Verstappen

However following an aggressive cut in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Dutchman's attack on the inner line, Norris misjudged his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

This enabled Max Verstappen to overtake into the lead while Norris also second place to Russell

Through two VSC periods for some early incidents, including at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually established dominance on the race

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

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

The Red Bull driver was could rejoin still in the lead, Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull despite his newer rubber

Lando Norris rejoined after Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to let his tires to settle, soon closed his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

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

He was instructed to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was readily able to defend against Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the gap extended significantly as the McLaren began to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far remained unidentified

Even with dropping almost three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was able to defend against George Russell because of the size of the advantage he had built while pursuing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the season - just one less than the two McLaren teammates - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, although he requires issues for Lando Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

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

"In upcoming weekends we will try to win the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Oscar Piastri began in fifth but lost two places on the opening lap after being clouted by Lawson, who was soon taken out of the battle by a damaged front wing

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

The Australian ended up after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the entire race on the durable compound following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five-second penalty for a start-line violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It proved to be a disappointing event from essentially beginning to end in certain respects," Oscar Piastri informed race broadcasters

Asked about how he would approach the remaining events, he commented: "Just attempt to put 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 take advantage if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth place, insufficiently close to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams missing the speed to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, after his impressive performance to start in third in the wet weather

Isack Hadjar secured eighth place before Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

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

He got stuck in a DRS train with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could use his strong beginning to salvage a point following the worst qualifying session of his career