Norris Moves Closer to Title as Verstappen Claims Las Vegas F1 Race Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris moved closer to his first world title with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

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

Norris will win the championship in the Qatar as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so impressive in the opening stages of the season, has not finished on the podium for six races

"Max had a good race. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that first turn," stated Norris

"It remains a positive outcome to get second place. I've got to congratulate Max and his team"

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:

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

• Piastri's difficult performance streak continued as his title hopes wane

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

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a single point for tenth place after starting at the rear

At the start, Lando Norris was true to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he fought hard to defend his advantage from starting first from Max Verstappen

But following an aggressive cut in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Dutchman's challenge on the inner line, Norris miscalculated his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

That enabled Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while the British driver also second place to George Russell

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

Russell made an early tire change for the more durable compound, but Lando Norris and Verstappen stayed out

The McLaren driver pitted five circuits following the Mercedes driver and Verstappen ten laps later

Verstappen was could rejoin still in the lead, Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull despite his newer rubber

Lando Norris returned after Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to let his tyres to settle, soon closed his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and overtook into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris inquired his engineer how to run the rest of his race, essentially asking whether he should accept second place or attack

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' challenges, and in the closing stages the margin extended significantly as the McLaren started to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far remained unidentified

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was able to hold off Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had built while chasing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the season - only one behind both McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and keeps him in title contention, at least mathematically, although he requires problems for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

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

"In upcoming weekends we will try to win the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Oscar Piastri started fifth but lost two positions on the opening lap following being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was soon eliminated of the battle by a broken nose section

He trailed Liam Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but also out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could repass during the tire change phase

Piastri ended up after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the entire race on hard tyres after pitting during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not clearly visible on replays

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

Questioned about how he would approach the final two races, he said: "Just attempt to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly require several of factors to go my way at this stage to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to capitalise if circumstances change"

Leclerc hung on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams car lacking the speed to challenge with the top teams in the dry conditions, after his heroic performance to start in third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time title winner executed a flying start, rising to 13th on the opening circuit and continued to advance positions

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a bunch of other cars but was could employ his strong beginning to rescue a point after the worst qualifying performance of his career