Norris Advances Nearer to Title as Max Verstappen Takes Vegas Grand Prix Victory

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

Norris now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

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

Piastri, so strong in the opening stages of the season, 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 overly aggressive on that opening corner," said Norris

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

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

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

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

• Oscar Piastri's difficult run of form continued as his championship chances wane

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

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

From the beginning, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his advantage from starting first from Max Verstappen

But after an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Verstappen's attack on the inner line, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking zone and went too deep into the corner

This enabled Verstappen to drive past into the lead while the British driver lost second place to Russell

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

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

Norris pitted five laps following the Mercedes driver and Verstappen 10

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

Norris returned after George Russell from his stop but after a few cautious laps to allow his tires to warm up, soon closed his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and overtook into second place on lap 34

Norris inquired his engineer how to run the remainder of his race, effectively asking whether he should settle for second place or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was readily able to defend against Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the gap extended substantially as the McLaren began to experience a technical issue which has so far remained unidentified

Despite losing almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was could defend against George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had built while chasing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the season - only one behind the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in title contention, at least mathematically, although he requires issues for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

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

"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 extremely pleased of everyone"

Oscar Piastri started in fifth but dropped two places on the opening lap following being clouted by Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a broken nose section

He followed Liam Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Strip but lost position to Leclerc, who he was could repass during the pit-stop period

Piastri ended up behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the whole event on the durable compound following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not clearly visible on replays

"It proved to be a frustrating event from pretty much start to finish in certain respects," Oscar Piastri informed race broadcasters

Asked about how he would approach the remaining events, he said: "Simply try to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly need several of things to favor me at this stage to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to take advantage if circumstances change"

Leclerc hung on in sixth place, not close enough to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams car lacking the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, following his impressive showing to start in third in the wet

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

The seven-time title winner made a flying start, rising to thirteenth on the first lap and proceeded to move forwards

He got stuck in a DRS train with a group of other cars but was could employ his strong beginning to rescue a point following the poorest qualifying performance of his career