Norris Edges Nearer to Title as Max Verstappen Claims Vegas F1 Race Win

McLaren's Lando Norris moved nearer to a maiden championship with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

The Briton will win the championship in the Qatar as long as he doesn't surrender over five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

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

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

"It's still a good result to get second place. I've got to praise Max and his team"

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

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

• Norris maintained his progress towards the title losing the victory to Verstappen

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

• A excellent win for Max Verstappen to keep him in the title fight

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

At the start, Norris was faithful to his claim that he was "not present not to take risks" as he fought hard to defend his advantage from pole position from Verstappen

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

This enabled Max Verstappen to drive past into the lead while the British driver also second place to George Russell

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

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

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

The Red Bull driver was could rejoin still in the first place, George Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull car despite his fresher tyres

Lando Norris returned behind Russell from his stop but after a few cautious laps to let his tires to warm up, soon closed his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

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

He was told to "go and get Max" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Max Verstappen was easily able to defend against Norris' challenges, and in the closing stages the gap increased significantly as the McLaren car began to suffer a mechanical problem which has so far not been defined

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

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the championship - only one less than the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and maintains him in title contention, at minimum mathematically, although he needs issues for Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It remains a significant margin, we always try to optimize everything we've got," Verstappen said

"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 very proud of the entire team"

Piastri began in fifth but lost two places on the first circuit following being hit by Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of the battle by a damaged nose section

He trailed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before overtaking him on the Strip but lost position to Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the tire change phase

The Australian finished after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the entire race on hard tyres 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 race from essentially start to finish in some ways," Oscar Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would approach the final two races, he said: "Simply attempt to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly need quite a lot of things to favor me at this stage to win, but my only option is make myself in the ideal situation to take advantage if circumstances change"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams missing the pace to challenge with the top teams in the dry conditions, after his impressive performance to start in third in the wet weather

Hadjar secured eighth place before the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time champion executed a strong getaway, rising to 13th on the opening circuit and continued to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a bunch of other cars but was able to use his electric start to salvage a championship point after the poorest qualifying performance of his career