Lando Norris Moves Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Secures Vegas F1 Race Win

McLaren's Lando Norris moved closer to a maiden championship with second place in the Vegas race behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Norris currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth after the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will claim the championship in the desert as long as he does not lose over five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the opening stages of the season, has not finished on the top three for six consecutive events

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

"It remains a good result to get second. I've got to praise Verstappen and Red Bull"

After Qatar, the last event of the season takes place 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 title despite the victory to Max Verstappen

• Piastri's challenging run of form persisted as his title hopes diminish

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

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton securing a point for tenth place following starting at the back

At the start, Lando Norris was faithful to his claim that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he fought hard to protect his lead from pole position from Verstappen

However following an aggressive move in front of Verstappen to head off the Verstappen's challenge on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking point and went too deep into the corner

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

During two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event

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

The McLaren driver pitted five circuits after the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen 10

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

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

Norris inquired his engineer how to run the remainder of his race, essentially questioning whether he should settle for second place or attack

He was told to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily able to repel Lando's challenges, and in the closing stages the gap extended significantly as the McLaren car began to suffer a technical issue which has so far not been defined

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Norris was able to defend against George Russell because of the size of the lead he had built while pursuing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the season - only one less than both McLaren drivers - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in title contention, at least mathematically, even if he requires issues for Lando Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It's still a big gap, we consistently attempt to optimize all we've have," Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will try to win the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Oscar Piastri began in fifth but dropped two places on the opening lap after being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was soon eliminated of contention by a broken nose section

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

The Australian finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the entire race on the durable compound following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It was a disappointing event from essentially beginning to end in certain respects," Oscar Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Simply attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously require several of factors to favor me at this stage to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if circumstances change"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh place at the finish, his Williams car missing the speed to challenge with the top teams in the dry, following his impressive showing to start third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time title winner executed a flying start, up to thirteenth on the opening circuit and proceeded to move forwards

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