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

The McLaren Lando Norris moved nearer to his first world title with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

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

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

Piastri, so strong in the opening stages of the season, has not finished on the top three for six consecutive events

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

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

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

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

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

• Piastri's difficult run of form persisted as his championship chances diminish

• A superb victory for Max Verstappen to keep him in the title fight

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, following a difficult qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for tenth place following starting at the back

From the beginning, Lando Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not present not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to protect his lead from pole position from Max Verstappen

But following an aggressive cut in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Verstappen's attack 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 lead while Norris also the runner-up spot to George Russell

Through two VSC periods for some early incidents, including at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually established dominance on the race

Russell made an early pit stop for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Verstappen remained on track

Norris pitted five laps following the Mercedes and Max Verstappen 10

Verstappen was able to return still in the lead, George Russell having been unable to close in on the Red Bull car even with his fresher tyres

Lando Norris returned after George Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to allow his tires to settle, soon closed his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver inquired his engineer how to manage the remainder of his event, essentially asking whether he should settle for second or attack

He was told to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was readily could defend against Lando's challenges, and in the closing stages the margin increased significantly as the McLaren began to suffer a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Despite losing nearly three seconds a circuit, Norris was could hold off Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while pursuing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the championship - only one behind the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, although he requires problems for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It remains a big gap, we consistently attempt to optimize everything we've got," Max 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 finish, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Oscar Piastri began fifth but dropped two positions on the first circuit after being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of contention by a damaged front wing

He trailed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but also out to Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the pit-stop period

The Australian ended up after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the entire race on the durable compound after stopping during the initial VSC, but was given a five-second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It proved to be a frustrating event from essentially beginning to end in certain respects," Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would approach the remaining events, he said: "Just attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously require quite a lot of things to favor me at this stage 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 benefit from Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the finish, his Williams car missing the speed to compete with the top teams in the dry, after his heroic showing to qualify third in the wet weather

Isack Hadjar took eighth ahead of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, up to thirteenth on the opening circuit and continued to move forwards

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could employ his strong beginning to salvage a point following the worst qualifying session of his career