Norris Advances Closer to Title as Verstappen Claims Las Vegas Grand Prix Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris moved closer to a maiden championship with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place after Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

The Briton will win the championship in the Qatar as long as he doesn't surrender over five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

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

"Verstappen had a strong performance. I made the mistake early on and was overly aggressive on that first turn," said Norris

"It remains a positive outcome to secure second. I've got to praise Verstappen and his team"

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

The main developments of one of Formula 1's most high-profile races included:

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

• Oscar Piastri's difficult performance streak continued as his title hopes diminish

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

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

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

However following an forceful move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Dutchman's challenge on the inside, Norris miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

That enabled Verstappen to drive past into the lead while Norris also second place to George Russell

During two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, including at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually established dominance on the race

Russell made an early pit stop for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen remained on track

Norris stopped five laps after the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was able to rejoin still in the first place, George Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull despite his newer rubber

Norris rejoined behind Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to allow his tires to warm up, soon closed his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

Norris inquired his engineer how to manage the remainder of his event, essentially asking whether he should accept second or challenge for the lead

He was told to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Max Verstappen was readily could defend against Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the gap increased substantially as the McLaren started to experience a technical issue which has thus far not been defined

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was could hold off George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the season - just one less than both McLaren teammates - was achieved in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at least theoretically, although he requires problems for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It remains a big gap, we consistently attempt to optimize everything we've have," Max Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will try to take victory in the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of the entire team"

Piastri started in fifth but dropped two places on the first circuit after being clouted by Lawson, who was quickly taken out of contention by a damaged nose section

He followed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but also out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could repass during the tire change phase

Piastri ended up behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on the durable compound following stopping during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It was a disappointing race from essentially start to finish in certain respects," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Asked about how he would approach the final two races, he said: "Simply attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously require 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 hung on in sixth place, not close enough to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the flag, his Williams car lacking the speed to challenge with the top teams in the dry, after his impressive performance to start third in the wet

Hadjar took eighth place ahead of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time title winner executed a strong getaway, up to thirteenth on the first lap and proceeded to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a bunch of additional vehicles but was able to employ his strong beginning to salvage a championship point after the worst qualifying performance of his racing life