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

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

Norris now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will win the title in the Qatar as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the first half of the season, has failed to finish on the top three for six races

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

"It remains a positive outcome to secure second place. I've got to congratulate Verstappen and his team"

Following Qatar, the last event of the championship follows in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

The main developments of one of Formula 1's most prestigious races included:

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

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

• 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 single point for 10th after starting at the rear

From the beginning, Lando Norris was true to his statement that he was "not here not to take risks" as he fought hard to defend his advantage from pole position from Verstappen

However after an aggressive move in front of Verstappen to block the Verstappen's attack on the inside, Norris miscalculated his braking point and went too deep into the corner

This enabled Verstappen to overtake into the lead while Norris also second place to Russell

During two VSC periods for some early incidents, including at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the race

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

Norris pitted five circuits after the Mercedes driver and Verstappen 10

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

Lando Norris rejoined after Russell from his pit stop but following a few cautious laps to let his tyres to settle, quickly reduced his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into second place on lap 34

Norris inquired his engineer how to run the rest of his race, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second or challenge for the lead

He was told to "go and get Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Verstappen was easily able to repel Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the margin increased substantially as the McLaren car began to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far remained unidentified

Despite dropping almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was could defend against Russell because of the extent of the lead he had built while chasing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the season - just one behind the two McLaren drivers - was taken in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at least theoretically, although he needs issues for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

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

"During the coming events we will try to take victory in the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Oscar Piastri began fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit following being hit by Lawson, who was soon eliminated of contention by a broken front wing

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

The Australian finished behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the entire race on hard tyres after stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five-second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not clearly visible on replays

"It proved to be a disappointing race from essentially start to finish in some ways," Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he commented: "Simply try to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly require several of factors to favor me now to take the title, but all I can do is make myself in the best position to take advantage if circumstances change"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to benefit from Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams lacking the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, following his heroic showing to start third in the wet weather

Isack Hadjar secured eighth ahead of 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 advance positions

He got stuck in a DRS train with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could employ his strong beginning to rescue a championship point after the poorest qualifying performance of his racing life