Lando Norris Moves Nearer to Title as Verstappen Claims Vegas Grand Prix Victory

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

The British driver now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

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

The Australian driver, so impressive in the opening stages of the championship, has not finished 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 first turn," stated Norris

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

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

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

• Norris continued his momentum towards the title despite the win to Max Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's challenging performance streak continued as his title hopes diminish

• A superb win for Max Verstappen to maintain him in the championship battle

• Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for tenth place after starting at the back

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

But after an forceful cut in front of Verstappen to block the Dutchman's challenge on the inner line, Norris misjudged his braking zone and went too deep into the corner

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

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

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

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

The Red Bull driver was could rejoin still in the first place, Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull car even with his fresher tyres

Norris returned behind Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to allow his tires to warm up, quickly reduced his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into runner-up position on lap 34

The British driver asked his race engineer how to run the remainder of his race, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second place or challenge for the lead

He was told to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Max Verstappen was readily could defend against Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the margin extended substantially as the McLaren car started to experience a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

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

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - just one less than both McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in title contention, at least theoretically, although he requires problems for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It remains a big gap, we always try to maximise all we've have," Max Verstappen stated

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to take victory in the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we finish, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Piastri began fifth but lost two places on the opening lap following being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of the battle by a broken nose section

He followed Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but also position to Leclerc, who he was able to overtake again during the pit-stop period

The Australian finished behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the entire race on the durable compound following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second time penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It was a disappointing race from essentially beginning to end in some ways," Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Just attempt to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need quite a lot of things to go my way now to win, but my only option is make myself in the best position to capitalise if circumstances change"

Leclerc hung on in sixth place, insufficiently close to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh at the flag, his Williams car missing the pace to compete with the top teams in the dry, after his heroic performance to qualify third in the wet

Isack Hadjar took eighth ahead of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

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

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a group of additional vehicles but was could employ his electric start to salvage a point following the worst qualifying session of his career