Norris Edges Nearer to Championship as Verstappen Claims Vegas F1 Race Win

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped nearer to his first world title with second place in the Vegas race following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place after Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will win the championship in the Qatar as long as he doesn't surrender more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

Piastri, so impressive in the opening stages of the championship, has not finished on the podium for six races

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

"It remains a positive outcome to get second place. I've got to praise Max and his team"

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

The key stories of one of Formula 1's most high-profile races were:

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

• Oscar Piastri's difficult performance streak continued as his championship chances wane

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

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

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

But following an aggressive cut in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Dutchman's attack on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and went too deep into the corner

That allowed Verstappen to drive past into the lead while Norris lost the runner-up spot to Russell

During two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, featuring at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the event

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

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

The Red Bull driver was able to return still in the first place, George Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull even with his newer rubber

Norris returned behind George Russell from his pit stop but following a several careful circuits to allow his tyres to settle, quickly reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and swept by into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris asked his engineer how to run the remainder of his event, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second place or attack

He was instructed to "chase down Max" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Verstappen was easily could defend against Lando's challenges, and in the closing stages the margin extended significantly as the McLaren began to experience a technical issue which has thus far not been defined

Even with dropping nearly three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was able to hold off Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while pursuing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the season - only one behind both McLaren teammates - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, although he needs issues for Lando Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It remains a significant margin, we always try to optimize all we've have," Max Verstappen stated

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

Piastri began fifth but dropped two positions on the first circuit following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon eliminated of contention by a broken nose section

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

Piastri ended up behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the entire race on hard tyres after pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five-second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It was a disappointing race from pretty much start to finish in some ways," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Asked about how he would approach the remaining events, he said: "Simply try to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly require quite a lot of factors to favor me at this stage to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth place, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh place at the finish, his Williams car missing the pace to compete with the leading outfits in the dry, following his impressive showing to qualify in third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time champion executed a flying start, up to 13th on the opening circuit and proceeded to move forwards

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was able to employ his electric start to rescue a championship point after the worst qualifying performance of his racing life