Lando Norris Edges Closer to Championship as Verstappen Takes Vegas F1 Race Win

The McLaren Lando Norris moved nearer to a maiden world title with runner-up position in the Vegas race following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points going into the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

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

Piastri, so impressive in the opening stages of the championship, has failed to finish on the top three for six races

"Max had a strong performance. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that first turn," said Norris

"It's still a positive outcome to get second. I've got to praise Verstappen and his team"

After Qatar, the last event of the championship takes place in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

The main developments of one of Formula 1's most high-profile races included:

• Norris maintained his progress towards the championship losing the victory to Max Verstappen

• Piastri's challenging performance streak persisted as his title hopes wane

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

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

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 lead from starting first from Verstappen

But after an forceful move in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Dutchman's challenge on the inner line, Norris misjudged his braking zone and ran deep into the turn

That enabled Max Verstappen to drive past into the lead while Norris also second place to George Russell

During two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the event

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

The McLaren driver stopped five laps after the Mercedes and Verstappen ten laps later

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

Norris returned after George Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to allow his tyres to warm up, soon reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and overtook into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris asked his race engineer how to run the remainder of his event, effectively questioning whether he should accept second or challenge for the lead

He was told to "go and get Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily able to defend against Lando's challenges, and in the closing stages the gap increased substantially as the McLaren began to suffer a technical issue which has thus far not been defined

Even with dropping almost three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was could defend against Russell because of the size of the advantage he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the championship - only one behind the two McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in title contention, at least mathematically, although he needs issues for Lando Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It remains a big gap, we consistently attempt to maximise everything we've got," Max Verstappen said

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

Oscar Piastri began fifth but lost two positions on the opening lap after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon taken out of the battle by a damaged nose section

He trailed Liam Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but lost out to Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the pit-stop period

The Australian ended up after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the entire race on hard tyres after stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second time penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It proved to be a frustrating event from essentially beginning to end in certain respects," Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Just try to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously require several of things to favor me at this stage to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the best position to capitalise if something happens"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth place, insufficiently close to gain from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh place at the flag, his Williams missing the pace to compete with the top teams in the dry conditions, following his impressive showing to qualify third in the wet

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

The seven-time champion executed a strong getaway, up to thirteenth on the first lap and continued to move forwards

He got stuck in a DRS train with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could use his electric start to rescue a championship point following the poorest qualifying performance of his career