Norris Edges Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Claims Vegas Grand Prix Win

The McLaren Lando Norris moved closer to his first championship with second place in the Vegas race behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points going into the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

The Briton will secure the title in the desert as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

Piastri, so impressive in the opening stages of the season, has failed to finish on the podium for six consecutive events

"Verstappen had a good race. I made the mistake at the beginning and was too punchy on that first turn," said Norris

"It remains a positive outcome to get second place. I've got to congratulate Max and Red Bull"

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

The key stories of among Formula 1's most prestigious races included:

• Norris continued his momentum towards the championship despite the win to Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's difficult performance streak persisted as his title hopes diminish

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

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

At the start, Norris was faithful to his claim that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his advantage from starting first from Max Verstappen

But after an forceful move in front of Verstappen to head off the Verstappen's challenge on the inner line, Norris miscalculated his braking zone and went too deep into the corner

That enabled Verstappen to overtake into the first place while Norris lost the runner-up spot to Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, including at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event

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

Norris pitted five laps following the Mercedes and Verstappen ten laps later

Verstappen was able to return still in the lead, Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull car even with his fresher tyres

Norris returned behind George Russell from his pit stop but following a several careful circuits to allow his tyres to warm up, quickly closed his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris asked his engineer how to manage the rest of his event, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second or challenge for the lead

He was told to "chase down Max" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Verstappen was easily could defend against Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the gap increased 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 could hold off Russell because of the size of the advantage he had established while pursuing Max Verstappen

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

"It remains a significant margin, we always try to maximise everything we've got," Max Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will attempt to win the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm very proud of everyone"

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

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

The Australian ended up after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the whole event on the durable compound after stopping during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It proved to be a frustrating event from pretty much start to finish in some ways," Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would approach the remaining events, he said: "Simply try to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously require quite a lot of things to favor me now to win, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth position, insufficiently close to gain from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the finish, his Williams lacking the speed to compete with the leading outfits in the dry, following his impressive showing to start third in the wet

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

The seven-time champion made a flying start, rising to 13th on the opening circuit and continued to advance positions

He got stuck in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was could employ his electric start to salvage a point after the worst qualifying session of his career