Norris Advances Nearer to Title as Max Verstappen Claims Vegas Grand Prix Win

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped closer to his first world title with second place in the Vegas race behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth after Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

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

The Australian driver, so strong in the first half of the season, has failed to finish on the top three for six races

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

"It's still a good result to secure second place. I've got to praise Verstappen and his team"

Following Qatar, the last event of the season takes place in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

The key stories of one of Formula 1's most prestigious races included:

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

• Piastri's difficult performance streak persisted as his title hopes diminish

• A excellent victory for Verstappen to keep him in the title fight

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

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

However following an forceful move in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Verstappen's attack on the inner line, Norris misjudged his braking point and went too deep into the turn

This allowed Verstappen to overtake into the first place while Norris lost second place to George Russell

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

George Russell made an early pit stop for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Verstappen stayed out

Norris pitted five laps after the Mercedes and Max Verstappen ten laps later

Verstappen was able to return still in the lead, George Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull car despite his newer rubber

Lando Norris rejoined after Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to allow his tyres to settle, quickly reduced his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

The British driver asked his engineer how to run the remainder of his event, essentially asking whether he should settle for second or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was readily could defend against Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the gap increased significantly as the McLaren began to experience a mechanical problem which has so far not been defined

Even with losing nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was could hold off George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had built while pursuing Verstappen

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

"It's still a big gap, we always try to maximise everything we've have," Max Verstappen stated

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

Oscar Piastri started in fifth but dropped two positions on the opening lap after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon taken out of the battle by a damaged front wing

He followed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but lost position to Charles Leclerc, who he was able to overtake again during the tire change phase

Piastri ended up behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the entire race on the durable compound following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a start-line violation, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It proved to be a frustrating race from pretty much beginning to end in certain respects," Piastri told race broadcasters

Asked about how he would tackle the remaining events, he commented: "Just attempt to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly need several of things to favor me at this stage to win, but my only option is make myself 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 Carlos Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams lacking the pace to challenge with the top teams in the dry conditions, after his impressive performance to start in third in the wet weather

Isack Hadjar took eighth ahead of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, rising to thirteenth on the first lap and proceeded to move forwards

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a group of other cars but was could employ his electric start to salvage a point after the poorest qualifying performance of his racing life