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

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped nearer to a maiden championship with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

The Briton will secure 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 strong in the opening stages of the championship, has not finished on the podium for six consecutive events

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

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

Following Qatar, the last event of the championship follows in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

The main developments of among Formula 1's most prestigious races included:

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

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

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

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for 10th after beginning at the rear

At the start, Lando Norris was true to his claim that he was "not present not to take risks" as he fought hard to defend his lead from pole position from Max Verstappen

However after an forceful move in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Dutchman's challenge on the inner line, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking point and ran deep into the turn

This enabled Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while Norris lost the runner-up spot to George Russell

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

George Russell undertook an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Norris and Max Verstappen remained on track

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

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

Lando Norris rejoined after George Russell from his stop but after a few cautious laps to allow his tires to settle, quickly closed his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver asked his engineer how to run the remainder of his race, essentially questioning whether he should accept second place or attack

He was instructed to "chase down Max" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Max Verstappen was readily could repel Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the gap extended substantially as the McLaren car began to experience a mechanical problem which has so far not been defined

Even with losing almost three seconds a lap, Norris was could hold off Russell because of the size of the lead he had built while chasing Max Verstappen

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

"It remains a big gap, we consistently attempt to optimize all we've have," Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will try to take victory in the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Piastri began fifth but dropped two positions on the first circuit following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon eliminated of the battle by a damaged nose section

He followed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the Strip but lost position to Charles Leclerc, who he was able to repass during the pit-stop period

The Australian finished behind the Mercedes of 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 starting procedure violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

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

Asked about how he would tackle the final two races, he commented: "Just attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I clearly need quite a lot of factors to go my way now to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to benefit from Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh place at the finish, his Williams car missing the speed to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, after his heroic showing to qualify third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time champion executed a flying start, rising to 13th on the first lap and continued to advance positions

He got stuck in a DRS train with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could employ his electric start to salvage a championship point after the poorest qualifying performance of his racing life