Norris Advances Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Claims Vegas Grand Prix Win

McLaren's Lando Norris moved nearer to his first world title with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Norris currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth after the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will claim the title in the desert as long as he does not lose over five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so impressive in the first half of the season, has not finished on the top three for six races

"Max had a strong performance. I erred early on and was overly aggressive on that opening corner," said Norris

"It remains a good result to get second place. I've got to praise Max and his team"

After Qatar, the final race of the championship takes place in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

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

• Norris maintained his progress towards the championship losing the victory to Verstappen

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

• A superb victory for Max Verstappen to keep him in the championship battle

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

From the beginning, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here not to take risks" as he fought hard to defend his lead from pole position from Verstappen

However following an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to block the Dutchman's challenge on the inner line, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking point and went too deep into the corner

That allowed Verstappen to drive past into the first place while Norris also second place to Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, including at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen slowly established dominance on the event

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

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

Verstappen was able to rejoin still in the lead, George Russell having been unable to close in on the Red Bull even with his newer rubber

Lando Norris returned after Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to allow his tires to settle, soon closed his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver inquired his race engineer how to manage the remainder of his race, essentially asking whether he should settle for second or attack

He was told to "chase down Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Verstappen was easily could repel Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the gap extended substantially as the McLaren began to experience a technical issue which has thus far not been defined

Even with dropping almost three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was able to defend against George Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while chasing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the season - only one behind both McLaren teammates - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at least mathematically, although he needs problems for Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It's still a big gap, we consistently attempt to optimize everything we've got," Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will try to take victory in the event 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 dropped two positions on the opening lap after being hit by Lawson, who was soon taken out of contention by a damaged front wing

He followed Liam Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but lost out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the pit-stop period

The Australian ended up behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on the durable compound following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second penalty for a start-line violation, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It was a disappointing race from pretty much start to finish in some ways," Oscar Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he commented: "Simply try to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously need quite a lot of factors to go my way at this stage to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the best position to capitalise if circumstances change"

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

Isack Hadjar secured eighth place ahead of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time title winner made a strong getaway, up to 13th on the first lap and proceeded to move forwards

He became trapped in a DRS train with a bunch of other cars but was could use his electric start to rescue a point after the poorest qualifying session of his racing life