Norris Advances Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Secures Vegas F1 Race Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris moved nearer to his first championship with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Norris now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place after Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will win the title 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 impressive in the first half of the championship, has not finished on the top three for six races

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

"It's still a positive outcome to secure second. I've got to praise Max and Red Bull"

Following 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 progress towards the title losing the victory to Verstappen

• Piastri's difficult performance streak persisted as his title hopes wane

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

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for 10th after beginning at the rear

At the start, Norris was true to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he fought hard to defend his lead from pole position from Max Verstappen

But following an forceful move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Verstappen's attack on the inner line, Norris misjudged his braking point and ran deep into the turn

That allowed Verstappen to drive past into the first place while Norris also the runner-up spot to George Russell

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

Russell undertook an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Norris and Verstappen stayed out

The McLaren driver stopped five circuits after the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen ten laps later

The Red Bull driver was could rejoin still in the lead, Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull car even with his newer rubber

Norris rejoined after Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to let his tires to settle, quickly reduced his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into runner-up position on lap 34

The British driver asked his engineer how to manage the rest of his race, essentially questioning whether he should settle for second place or attack

He was told to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was easily able to repel Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the margin increased significantly as the McLaren started to experience a technical issue which has so far not been defined

Despite losing nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was able to defend against George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had built while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the season - just one behind both McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, although he requires problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It remains a significant margin, we always try to maximise everything we've have," Max Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will attempt to take victory in the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

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

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

The Australian ended up behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the whole event on hard tyres after stopping during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five second time penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It proved to be a frustrating event from essentially start to finish in some ways," Oscar Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would approach the remaining events, he commented: "Simply try to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously need quite a lot of factors to favor me now to take the title, but my only option is make myself in the ideal situation to take advantage if circumstances change"

Leclerc hung on in sixth place, insufficiently close to gain from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the flag, his Williams missing the pace to compete with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, following his impressive performance to start in third in the wet

Hadjar took eighth place ahead of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time title winner made a flying start, up to 13th on the opening circuit and continued to advance positions

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a bunch of other cars but was could use his strong beginning to rescue a championship point after the poorest qualifying session of his racing life