Lando Norris Edges Nearer to Title as Verstappen Claims Vegas Grand Prix Win

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped closer to a maiden championship with second place in the Vegas race behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen

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

The Briton will claim 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 first half of the season, has failed to finish on the top three for six consecutive events

"Max had a strong performance. I made the mistake early on and was overly aggressive on that first turn," said Norris

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

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

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

• Lando Norris maintained his momentum towards the title losing the win to Max Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's challenging performance streak continued as his title hopes wane

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

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

From the beginning, Norris was true to his claim that he was "not here not to take risks" as he fought hard to protect his advantage from starting first from Max Verstappen

But following an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to head off the Verstappen's challenge on the inner line, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking point and went too deep into the turn

That allowed Max Verstappen to overtake into the first place while Norris also second place to Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, featuring at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the race

George Russell undertook an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Norris and Verstappen remained on track

The McLaren driver stopped five circuits after the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was able to return still in the lead, George Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull car despite his newer rubber

Lando Norris rejoined behind George Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to allow his tyres to settle, quickly reduced his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

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

He was instructed to "chase down Max" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Verstappen was easily could repel Norris' challenges, and in the final laps the gap extended substantially as the McLaren car began to suffer a mechanical problem which has thus far not been defined

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

The Verstappen's sixth win of the season - just one less than the two McLaren drivers - was taken in dominant fashion and keeps him in title contention, at least theoretically, although he needs problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It remains a big gap, we always try to maximise everything we've have," Verstappen stated

"In upcoming weekends we will try to take victory in the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Piastri started in fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit after being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was quickly taken out of contention by a broken front wing

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

The Australian ended up after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the whole event on the durable compound after pitting during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five-second time penalty for a start-line violation, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It was a disappointing race from essentially start to finish in certain respects," Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Simply try to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly need several of factors to favor me now to take the title, but my only option is make myself in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to benefit from Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams car lacking the speed to challenge with the top teams in the dry, following his heroic performance to start third in the wet weather

Hadjar secured eighth place ahead of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion executed a flying start, rising to thirteenth on the opening circuit and proceeded to advance positions

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a group of other cars but was could use his electric start to rescue a championship point following the worst qualifying session of his racing life