Lando Norris Edges Closer to Title as Verstappen Takes Vegas F1 Race Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped closer to his first world title with runner-up position in the Vegas race following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

Norris will win the title in the Qatar as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the first half of the championship, has failed to finish on the top three for six consecutive events

"Verstappen had a good race. I made the mistake early on and was overly aggressive on that opening corner," said Norris

"It remains a good result to get second. I've got to congratulate Max and Red Bull"

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

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

• Norris maintained his momentum towards the championship losing the victory to Verstappen

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

• A excellent victory for Verstappen to maintain him in the championship battle

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

From the beginning, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to protect his lead from starting first from Max Verstappen

However after an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Dutchman's challenge on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking zone and ran deep into the turn

This allowed Max Verstappen to overtake into the lead while the British driver lost second place to Russell

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

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

Norris pitted five circuits following the Mercedes driver and Verstappen 10

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

Lando Norris returned after Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to allow his tyres to warm up, soon closed his 3.3-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 race, essentially questioning 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. Max Verstappen was readily able to defend against Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the gap extended substantially as the McLaren started to suffer a technical issue which has thus far not been defined

Even with dropping almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was could defend against Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the championship - just one less than both McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at least mathematically, even if he needs problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It's still a significant margin, we always try to optimize all we've got," Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will try to win the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, 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 soon eliminated of the battle 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 also out to Leclerc, who he was could repass during the pit-stop period

Piastri finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the whole event 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 clearly visible on video reviews

"It proved to be a frustrating race from essentially start to finish in certain respects," Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would approach the remaining events, he said: "Just attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously need several of factors to go my way at this stage to take the title, but my only option is make myself in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh place at the flag, his Williams lacking the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, following his heroic showing to start in third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time title winner made a strong getaway, rising to thirteenth on the opening circuit and proceeded to advance positions

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could use his electric start to rescue a point after the worst qualifying performance of his career