Lando Norris Moves Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Secures Vegas Grand Prix Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris moved closer to his first championship with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

Norris now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will claim the championship in the Qatar as long as he doesn't surrender more than 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 top three for six consecutive events

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

"It remains a positive outcome to secure second place. I've got to praise Verstappen and his team"

Following Qatar, the final race of the championship follows in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

The key stories of one of Formula 1's most high-profile races included:

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

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

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

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, following a difficult qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a point for 10th following beginning at the back

At the start, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to protect his advantage from pole position from Verstappen

But following an forceful cut in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Dutchman's attack on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking point and ran deep into the corner

This enabled Verstappen to overtake into the lead while Norris lost the runner-up spot to Russell

During 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 slowly stamped his authority on the event

Russell undertook an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen stayed out

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

The Red Bull driver was could rejoin still in the first place, George Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull despite his fresher tyres

Lando Norris rejoined behind George Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tires to settle, quickly 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 manage the remainder of his event, essentially asking whether he should settle for second place or attack

He was instructed to "chase down Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Verstappen was readily able to repel Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the margin increased significantly as the McLaren started to suffer a mechanical problem which has thus far remained unidentified

Despite losing almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was could hold off George Russell because of the size of the advantage he had built while chasing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the season - just one behind both McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in title contention, at least mathematically, even if he needs problems for Lando Norris in the final two events to pass him

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

"In upcoming weekends we will try to take victory in the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Piastri started in fifth but dropped two positions on the opening lap following being hit by Lawson, who was soon eliminated of contention by a damaged nose section

He followed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Strip but lost position to Charles Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the pit-stop period

The Australian finished behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the entire race on the durable compound after stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not clearly visible on replays

"It was a frustrating race from essentially beginning to end in certain respects," Oscar Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Simply try to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously require several of factors to favor me now to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if something happens"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, insufficiently close to gain from Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh place at the flag, his Williams missing the speed to compete with the top teams in the dry, following his heroic showing to start in third in the wet

Isack Hadjar secured eighth ahead of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time title winner executed a strong getaway, up to 13th on the opening circuit and proceeded to advance positions

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