Lando Norris Advances Closer to Championship as Verstappen Takes Las Vegas Grand Prix Win

The McLaren Lando Norris moved closer to a maiden championship with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will secure the championship in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so strong in the opening stages of the championship, has failed to finish on the podium for six consecutive events

"Max had a strong performance. I made the mistake at the beginning and was too punchy on that opening corner," said Norris

"It's still a good result to secure second place. I've got to praise Max and Red Bull"

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

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

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

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

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

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for tenth place following starting at the rear

From the beginning, Lando Norris was faithful to his claim that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his lead from starting first from Max Verstappen

However following an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to head off the Verstappen's challenge on the inside, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking zone and ran deep into the turn

That allowed Max Verstappen to drive past into the lead while Norris also the runner-up spot to Russell

During two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Verstappen slowly established dominance on the race

Russell made an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen stayed out

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

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

Norris rejoined behind George Russell from his pit stop but following a few cautious laps to let his tyres to settle, soon reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into runner-up position on lap 34

Norris inquired his race engineer how to run the remainder of his race, effectively questioning whether he should accept second place or attack

He was instructed to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Max Verstappen was readily could repel Norris' challenges, and in the closing stages the margin extended significantly as the McLaren began to experience a technical issue which has so far not been defined

Despite losing almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was could hold off George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the championship - just one behind the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in title contention, at least theoretically, although he requires issues for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It remains a significant margin, we always try to maximise everything we've got," Max Verstappen stated

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt 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"

Piastri started in fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit following being clouted by Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a broken front wing

He trailed Liam Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before overtaking him on the Strip but also position to Leclerc, who he was able to repass during the pit-stop period

Piastri ended up behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the whole event on the durable compound after 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 video reviews

"It was a disappointing race from pretty much start to finish in certain respects," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Asked about how he would approach the remaining events, he commented: "Just try to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously require several of things to favor me now to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the best position to capitalise if circumstances change"

Leclerc hung on in sixth position, not close enough to benefit from Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh place at the finish, his Williams car missing the pace to challenge with the top teams in the dry, after his impressive showing to start in third in the wet weather

Hadjar took eighth place before the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion made a flying start, rising to 13th on the first lap and continued to move forwards

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a group of other cars but was able to employ his strong beginning to salvage a championship point following the worst qualifying session of his racing life