Norris Advances Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Takes Vegas F1 Race Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped nearer to his first world title with second place in the Vegas race behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

Norris now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place behind Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

Norris will secure the championship in the Qatar as long as he does not lose more than 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 podium for six consecutive events

"Verstappen had a strong performance. I made the mistake early on and was overly aggressive on that opening corner," stated Norris

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

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

The key stories of one of Formula 1's most prestigious races were:

• Lando Norris maintained his progress towards the title despite the victory to Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's difficult run of form continued as his title hopes wane

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

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for tenth place after beginning at the back

From the beginning, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he fought hard to protect his advantage from starting first from Verstappen

However following an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Verstappen's challenge on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking point and went too deep into the corner

That enabled Max Verstappen to overtake into the first place while the British driver also 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 Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the race

Russell made an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Norris and Max Verstappen remained on track

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

Verstappen was able to rejoin still in the lead, George Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull despite his fresher tyres

Lando Norris returned behind Russell from his stop but following a few cautious laps to let his tires to warm up, soon reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver asked his engineer how to run the remainder of his event, effectively asking whether he should accept second place or attack

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was easily could defend against Norris' challenges, and in the final laps the margin extended significantly as the McLaren started to suffer a mechanical problem which has thus far remained unidentified

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

The Verstappen's sixth win of the season - just one less than the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in title contention, at minimum mathematically, although he needs issues for Norris in the final two events to pass 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 win the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we finish, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Piastri began fifth but lost two positions on the opening lap following being clouted by Lawson, who was quickly taken out of contention by a broken nose section

He trailed 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 tire change phase

The Australian finished after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on hard tyres after pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second time penalty for a start-line violation, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It proved to be a frustrating race from essentially start to finish in some ways," Oscar Piastri informed race broadcasters

Asked about how he would tackle the remaining events, he commented: "Just try to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously need several of things to go my way at this stage to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to take advantage if something happens"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth place, not close enough to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams lacking the pace to compete with the leading outfits in the dry, after his impressive performance to start third in the wet

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

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

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could use his electric start to rescue a championship point following the worst qualifying performance of his racing life