Norris Moves Nearer to Title as Verstappen Takes Las Vegas F1 Race Win

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped closer to his first world title 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 30 points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will claim the championship in the Qatar as long as he doesn't surrender more than 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 top three for six consecutive events

"Max had a strong performance. I erred at the beginning and was too punchy on that opening corner," stated Norris

"It's still a good result to secure second place. I've got to congratulate Verstappen and Red Bull"

After 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 momentum towards the championship losing the victory to Verstappen

• Piastri's challenging run of form continued as his championship chances wane

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

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a 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 fought hard to defend his lead from pole position from Max Verstappen

But after an aggressive move in front of Verstappen to head off the Dutchman's attack on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

This enabled Max Verstappen to drive past into the lead while Norris also the runner-up spot to George Russell

During two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, including at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the event

Russell made an early pit stop for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Verstappen stayed out

Norris stopped five circuits following the Mercedes and Verstappen ten laps later

Verstappen was able to return still in the first place, George Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull even with his newer rubber

Lando Norris returned after Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to allow his tires to settle, soon reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris inquired his engineer how to manage the remainder of his race, essentially questioning whether he should settle for second place or challenge for the lead

He was told to "chase down Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Verstappen was readily could repel Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the margin extended substantially as the McLaren car started to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far remained unidentified

Even with losing almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was able to defend against Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while pursuing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - just one less than the two McLaren drivers - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, although he needs issues for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It remains a big gap, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've got," Max Verstappen stated

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

Oscar Piastri started in fifth but dropped two positions on the opening lap after being hit by Lawson, who was quickly taken out of contention by a broken front wing

He followed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before overtaking him on the Strip but lost position to Charles Leclerc, who he was able to repass during the tire change phase

The Australian finished after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the whole event on the durable compound after stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five-second time penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not clearly visible on replays

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

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he commented: "Simply try to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need several of things to go my way at this stage to take the title, but all I can do is make myself in the ideal situation to take advantage if something happens"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams lacking the speed to challenge with the top teams in the dry conditions, after his impressive showing to start third in the wet

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

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

He got stuck in a DRS train with a group of other cars but was able to employ his electric start to salvage a championship point following the poorest qualifying session of his career