Lando Norris Edges Nearer to Title as Max Verstappen Claims Las Vegas F1 Race Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped nearer to his first championship with second place in the Vegas race behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

Norris now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points going into the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will secure the championship in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender over five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the first half of the championship, has not finished on the podium for six races

"Verstappen had a good race. I erred early on and was too punchy on that first turn," stated Norris

"It remains a positive outcome to get second. I've got to praise Max and Red Bull"

Following Qatar, the last event of the championship takes place in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

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

• Lando Norris maintained his momentum towards the title losing the victory to Max Verstappen

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

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

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton securing a single point for 10th following starting at the back

At the start, Lando Norris was faithful to his claim that he was "not present not to take risks" as he fought hard to defend his lead from pole position from Max Verstappen

However following an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Dutchman's challenge on the inner line, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

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

During two VSC periods for some early incidents, including at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the event

Russell undertook an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen remained on track

Norris stopped five laps after the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen ten laps later

Verstappen was able to rejoin still in the lead, Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull despite his fresher tyres

Norris returned behind Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to allow his tyres to warm up, soon reduced his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver inquired his race engineer how to manage the rest of his race, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily able to repel Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the margin extended significantly as the McLaren car started to suffer a technical issue which has thus far remained unidentified

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

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the championship - just one behind the two McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and keeps him in title contention, at minimum mathematically, even if he needs issues for Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It's still a big gap, we always try to optimize all we've got," Max Verstappen stated

"In upcoming weekends we will try to win the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Oscar Piastri started fifth but dropped two places on the opening lap following being hit by Lawson, who was soon taken out of contention by a broken nose section

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

The Australian finished behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the entire race on hard tyres following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five-second time penalty for a start-line violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It proved to be a frustrating race from essentially beginning to end in some ways," Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Just attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I clearly need several of factors to favor me now to take the title, but my only option is make myself in the best position to capitalise if something happens"

Leclerc hung on in sixth position, insufficiently close to gain from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh place at the flag, his Williams lacking the speed to compete with the top teams in the dry, after his heroic performance 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 executed a strong getaway, rising to thirteenth on the opening circuit and proceeded to move forwards

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could employ his electric start to salvage a championship point after the poorest qualifying session of his career