Lando Norris Advances Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Secures Vegas F1 Race Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped nearer to his first world title with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

Norris now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place after the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points going into the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

Norris will claim the championship in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so strong in the first half of the championship, has not finished on the podium for six races

"Verstappen had a strong performance. I made the mistake at the beginning and was overly aggressive on that opening corner," stated Norris

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

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

The main developments of among Formula 1's most prestigious races were:

• Lando Norris continued his momentum towards the title losing the victory to Verstappen

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

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

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for tenth place after beginning at the rear

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

However following an forceful move in front of Verstappen to block the Verstappen's attack on the inner line, Norris miscalculated his braking point and ran deep into the turn

This enabled Verstappen to overtake into the first place while the British driver also the runner-up spot to George Russell

Through two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, including at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the race

Russell undertook an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen remained on track

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

Verstappen was could return still in the lead, Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull even with his newer rubber

Norris rejoined after George Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to allow his tires to settle, soon reduced his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into second place on lap 34

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

He was instructed to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Verstappen was readily able to defend against Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the margin extended significantly as the McLaren began to suffer a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Even with dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Norris was could hold off George Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while chasing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the season - just one behind the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and maintains him in title contention, at least mathematically, although he requires issues for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to optimize everything we've have," Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to win the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we finish, but I'm extremely pleased of the entire team"

Oscar Piastri began in fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon eliminated of contention by a damaged nose section

He followed Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but lost position to Charles Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the tire change phase

Piastri ended up after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the entire race on the durable compound after stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It proved to be a frustrating race from pretty much beginning to end in certain respects," Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would approach the final two races, he said: "Simply attempt to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously need quite a lot of factors to favor me at this stage to take the title, but all I can do is make myself in the best position to take advantage if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth position, not close enough to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh at the finish, his Williams missing the pace to challenge with the top teams in the dry, after his impressive showing to start third in the wet weather

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

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

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a bunch of other cars but was could employ his electric start to salvage a point following the poorest qualifying performance of his racing life