Norris Moves Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Claims Vegas Grand Prix Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris moved nearer to his first world title with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will claim the championship in the Qatar as long as he doesn't surrender more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the opening stages of the season, has failed to finish on the podium for six races

"Max had a good race. I erred early on and was overly aggressive on that opening corner," stated Norris

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

Following Qatar, the final race of the season follows in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

The main developments of among Formula 1's most high-profile races included:

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

• Piastri's difficult performance streak persisted as his title hopes diminish

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

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, following a difficult qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for 10th after beginning at the rear

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

However after an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Dutchman's challenge on the inside, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking point and went too deep into the turn

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

During two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, including at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event

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

The McLaren driver pitted five laps following the Mercedes and Max Verstappen ten laps later

Verstappen was could return still in the first place, Russell having been unable to close in on the Red Bull car even with his fresher tyres

Lando Norris returned after Russell from his stop but following a few cautious laps to let his tires to settle, quickly reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

The British driver asked his engineer how to manage the rest of his race, essentially questioning whether he should settle for second place or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "go and get Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily able to repel Norris' challenges, and in the closing stages the gap increased significantly as the McLaren car started to experience a mechanical problem which has so far not been defined

Despite losing almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was could defend against George Russell because of the size of the advantage he had established while pursuing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - just one less than both McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in title contention, at minimum mathematically, even if he requires problems for Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It's still a big gap, we always try to maximise everything we've got," Max Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will attempt to take victory in the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm extremely pleased of the entire team"

Oscar Piastri started in fifth but dropped two positions on the first circuit following being clouted by Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a broken nose section

He trailed Liam Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Strip but also position to Charles Leclerc, who he was able to overtake again during the pit-stop period

The Australian ended up after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the entire race on hard tyres following pitting during the initial VSC, but was given a five second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It was a frustrating race from essentially beginning to end in some ways," Oscar Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he commented: "Just attempt to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously require several of factors to go my way now to win, but all I can do is make myself in the ideal situation to capitalise if something happens"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh place at the finish, his Williams car 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

Isack Hadjar took eighth place 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 became trapped in a DRS train with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could use his strong beginning to rescue a point following the poorest qualifying performance of his racing life