Lando Norris Advances Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Takes Vegas Grand Prix Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris moved closer to a maiden championship with second place in the Vegas race behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads fellow McLaren driver 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 win the championship in the desert 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 championship, has not finished on the top three for six races

"Verstappen had a strong performance. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that opening corner," said Norris

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

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

The key stories of among Formula 1's most high-profile races included:

• Norris continued his progress towards the title despite the victory to Max Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's difficult run of form persisted as his championship chances diminish

• A excellent win for Verstappen to maintain him in the title fight

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton securing a point for tenth place after beginning at the back

At the start, Norris was true to his claim that he was "not present not to take risks" as he fought hard to protect his lead from starting first from Verstappen

However after an forceful move in front of Verstappen to block the Verstappen's attack on the inner line, Norris miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

This enabled Verstappen to overtake into the lead while Norris lost the runner-up spot to George Russell

Through two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually established dominance on the event

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

Norris stopped five circuits following the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was could return still in the first place, Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull car even with his newer rubber

Norris rejoined behind George 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 overtook into runner-up position on lap 34

The British driver asked his engineer how to run the remainder of his race, effectively asking 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 able to defend against Lando's challenges, and in the closing stages the gap increased substantially as the McLaren started to experience a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Despite losing almost three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was able to hold off George Russell because of the size of the advantage he had established while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the championship - only one less than the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at least theoretically, even if he requires issues for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

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

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

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

He trailed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but also out to Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the tire change phase

The Australian finished behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the whole event on the durable compound following stopping during the initial VSC, but was given a five-second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

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

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Just attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I clearly require several of factors to go my way now to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the best position to capitalise if something happens"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh place at the flag, his Williams missing the pace to compete with the top teams in the dry, following his impressive showing to start in third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time champion executed a strong getaway, up to 13th on the opening circuit and proceeded to move forwards

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a group of additional vehicles but was could employ his strong beginning to rescue a championship point following the worst qualifying performance of his racing life