Norris Moves Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Takes Vegas Grand Prix Win

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

Norris now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place after Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points heading to the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

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

Piastri, so impressive in the opening stages of the championship, has failed to finish on the top three for six consecutive events

"Verstappen had a good race. I erred early on and was too punchy on that first turn," stated Norris

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

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

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

• Lando Norris continued his momentum towards the title losing the victory to Max Verstappen

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

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

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

At the start, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not present not to take risks" as he fought hard to defend his lead from pole position from Max Verstappen

However following an aggressive cut in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Verstappen's challenge on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking zone and went too deep into the corner

This allowed Max Verstappen to drive past into the lead while Norris lost second place to Russell

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

George Russell undertook an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Norris and Verstappen stayed out

Norris stopped five laps after the Mercedes and Max Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was could rejoin still in the first place, Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull despite his fresher tyres

Norris returned after George Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to let his tyres to settle, soon reduced his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris asked his race engineer how to run the remainder of his race, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second or attack

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was easily able to repel Lando's attacks, and in the final laps the gap increased significantly as the McLaren began to experience a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Even with losing almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was able to hold off Russell because of the extent of the lead he had built while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the season - only one behind the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at least theoretically, although he needs issues for Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

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

"During the coming events we will try to take victory in the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Piastri began fifth but lost two positions on the opening lap following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a damaged nose section

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

The Australian finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the whole event on the durable compound following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not clearly visible on replays

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

Asked about how he would approach the remaining events, he said: "Just try to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly require quite a lot of things to favor me now to win, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to take advantage if something happens"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth place, insufficiently close to gain from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh place at the finish, his Williams lacking the speed to compete with the top teams in the dry conditions, after his impressive performance to qualify in third in the wet

Isack Hadjar took eighth before the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time title winner executed a strong getaway, up to 13th on the first lap and continued to move forwards

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was could employ his strong beginning to rescue a championship point after the worst qualifying performance of his career