Norris Advances Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Secures Las Vegas Grand Prix Win

McLaren's Lando Norris moved closer to his first championship with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

Norris currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place after Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

Norris will secure the title in the Qatar as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

Piastri, so impressive in the first half of the season, has not finished on the top three for six races

"Verstappen had a strong performance. I erred early on and was too punchy on that first turn," stated Norris

"It's still a positive outcome to secure second place. I've got to praise Verstappen and Red Bull"

Following Qatar, the final race of the season takes place in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

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

• Lando Norris continued his progress towards the championship losing the win to Max Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's challenging run of form persisted as his championship chances diminish

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

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton securing a point for 10th following starting at the rear

From the beginning, Norris was faithful to his claim that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he fought hard to defend his lead from starting first from Max 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 point and went too deep into the corner

That allowed Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while the British driver also the runner-up spot to Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly established dominance on the race

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

Norris stopped five circuits after the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was able to return still in the lead, George Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull despite his fresher tyres

Lando Norris returned after Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to allow his tires to warm up, quickly closed his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into second place on lap 34

The British driver inquired his race engineer how to manage the rest of his event, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily able to defend against Norris' challenges, and in the closing stages the gap extended significantly as the McLaren car started to suffer a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Even with losing almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was able to hold off George Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the season - just one behind the two McLaren teammates - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at least mathematically, although he requires problems for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've got," Max Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to take victory in the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Piastri started in fifth but dropped two places on the first circuit following being hit by Lawson, who was soon taken out of contention by a damaged front wing

He trailed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but also out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the pit-stop period

Piastri finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the entire race on the durable compound following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five-second penalty for a start-line violation, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It was a frustrating event from essentially beginning to end in certain respects," Oscar Piastri informed race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would approach the final two races, he said: "Simply attempt to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously need quite a lot of things to go my way now to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if circumstances change"

Leclerc held on in sixth place, insufficiently close to gain from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the flag, his Williams car missing the speed to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, after his heroic showing to qualify third in the wet

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

The seven-time champion executed a strong getaway, up to thirteenth on the first lap and proceeded to advance positions

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a group of additional vehicles but was able to employ his strong beginning to salvage a championship point following the poorest qualifying performance of his racing life