Norris Edges Nearer to Title as Max Verstappen Takes Vegas F1 Race Win

The McLaren Lando Norris moved closer to his first world title with second place in the Vegas race following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

Norris will secure the title in the desert as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

Piastri, so impressive in the opening stages of the championship, has not finished on the podium for six races

"Verstappen had a good race. I made the mistake early on and was overly aggressive 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 final race of the season follows in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

The main developments of one of Formula 1's most high-profile races were:

• Norris maintained his momentum towards the title despite the victory to Max Verstappen

• Piastri's difficult run of form continued as his championship chances wane

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

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

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

However following an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to head off the Dutchman's challenge on the inner line, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

This enabled Max Verstappen to overtake into the first place while the British driver lost second place to Russell

During two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the race

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

The McLaren driver stopped five laps after the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen ten laps later

Verstappen was able to rejoin still in the first place, Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull car even with his newer rubber

Lando Norris rejoined behind George Russell from his stop but after a several careful circuits to allow his tyres to settle, quickly reduced his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into second place on lap 34

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

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Verstappen was readily able to repel Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the gap increased substantially as the McLaren car started to suffer a mechanical problem which has thus far not been defined

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was could hold off Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the season - just one behind the two McLaren teammates - was taken in dominant fashion and keeps him in title contention, at least mathematically, although he needs issues for Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It remains a big gap, we consistently attempt to optimize everything we've have," Max Verstappen stated

"In upcoming weekends we will try to win the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Oscar Piastri started in fifth but lost two positions on the opening lap following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly taken out of contention by a damaged front wing

He trailed Liam Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Strip but lost out to Leclerc, who he was could repass during the tire change phase

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

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

Asked about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Just attempt to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly require several of things to go my way at this stage to take the title, but my only option is make myself in the ideal situation to take advantage if circumstances change"

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

Hadjar took eighth ahead of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, rising to 13th on the opening circuit and proceeded to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was could use his electric start to rescue a point after the poorest qualifying performance of his racing life