Lando Norris Advances Nearer to Title as Verstappen Secures Las Vegas F1 Race Win

McLaren's Lando Norris moved nearer to his first championship with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

Norris currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will secure the title in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender over five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the first half of the championship, has not finished on the top three for six consecutive events

"Max had a good race. I made the mistake early on and was overly aggressive on that first turn," stated Norris

"It remains a good result to secure second. I've got to congratulate Max and his team"

After Qatar, the last event of the season takes place in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

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

• Lando Norris continued his momentum towards the championship despite the win to Max Verstappen

• Piastri's challenging run of form persisted as his championship chances wane

• A excellent victory for Max Verstappen to keep him in the championship battle

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton securing a point for tenth place following beginning at the back

At the start, Lando Norris was faithful to his claim that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his lead from pole position from Verstappen

But following an forceful move in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Verstappen's attack on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking point and went too deep into the turn

That allowed Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while the British driver also the runner-up spot to George Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, including at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly established dominance on the event

Russell undertook an early pit stop for the hard tyres, but Norris and Max Verstappen stayed out

Norris stopped five circuits after the Mercedes and Max Verstappen ten laps later

The Red Bull driver was could rejoin still in the first place, George Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull even with his newer rubber

Norris returned after George Russell from his pit stop but following a few cautious laps to allow his tyres to settle, soon closed his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver asked his engineer how to run the remainder of his event, effectively questioning whether he should accept second place or attack

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

Even with dropping almost three seconds a lap, Norris was could defend against George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had built while chasing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the season - only one less than the two McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at least theoretically, even if he requires problems for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It's still a big gap, we always try to maximise all we've have," Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will attempt to win the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Piastri started in fifth but lost two positions on the opening lap after being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of the battle by a broken nose section

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

Piastri finished behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the whole event on hard tyres after stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five-second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It proved to be a disappointing event from essentially start to finish in some ways," Piastri told race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Simply attempt to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously require several of factors to favor me now to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to take advantage if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh at the finish, his Williams lacking the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, following his heroic performance to qualify third in the wet weather

Isack Hadjar secured eighth before Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time title winner made a flying start, rising to thirteenth on the opening circuit and continued to move forwards

He got stuck in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was able to use his strong beginning to rescue a point following the worst qualifying session of his racing life