Lando Norris Advances Nearer to Title as Max Verstappen Secures Las Vegas Grand Prix Win

McLaren's Lando Norris moved nearer to his first championship with second place in the Vegas race following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place after the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points going into the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

The Briton will claim the title in the desert as long as he does not lose over five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

Piastri, so impressive in the opening stages of the championship, has not finished on the podium for six races

"Verstappen had a good race. I erred at the beginning and was overly aggressive on that first turn," said Norris

"It remains a positive outcome to secure second place. I've got to praise 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 prestigious races included:

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

• Oscar Piastri's challenging performance streak continued as his championship chances diminish

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

• Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a single point for tenth place after beginning at the rear

From the beginning, Lando Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here not to take risks" as he fought hard to defend his advantage from pole position from Max Verstappen

However after an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Dutchman's attack on the inner line, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

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

Through two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the race

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

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

The Red Bull driver was could rejoin still in the first place, Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull despite his newer rubber

Lando Norris returned behind Russell from his pit stop but following a several careful circuits to allow his tires to settle, soon reduced his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

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

He was instructed to "go and get Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Verstappen was readily able to repel Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the margin increased substantially as the McLaren began to experience a technical issue which has so far not been defined

Even with losing almost three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was able to defend against Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while pursuing Verstappen

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

"It remains a big gap, we always try to maximise all we've have," Verstappen said

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

Oscar Piastri began fifth but dropped two places on the opening lap following being clouted by Lawson, who was quickly taken out of contention by a damaged front wing

He followed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Strip but lost out to Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the tire change phase

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

"It proved to be a frustrating race from pretty much beginning to end in some ways," Piastri informed race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Simply attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously need several of factors to favor me now to win, but all I can do is make myself in the best position to capitalise if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth position, insufficiently close to gain from Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh place at the flag, his Williams car lacking the pace to compete with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, after his heroic showing to start third in the wet weather

Isack Hadjar took eighth place before Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion executed a flying start, up to thirteenth on the first lap and proceeded to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was could employ his strong beginning to salvage a point following the worst qualifying session of his career