Norris Advances Nearer to Championship as Max Verstappen Claims Las Vegas Grand Prix Victory

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

Norris now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points going into the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

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

The Australian driver, so strong in the first half of the championship, has not finished on the podium for six consecutive events

"Max had a strong performance. I erred at the beginning and was overly aggressive on that opening corner," said Norris

"It's still a good result to secure second. I've got to congratulate Verstappen and his team"

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

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

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

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

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

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for tenth place after beginning at the rear

At the start, Lando Norris was true to his statement that he was "not present not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his lead from pole position from Verstappen

However after an forceful cut in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Verstappen's challenge on the inner line, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and went too deep into the corner

This allowed Verstappen to drive past into the first place while the British driver lost second place to George Russell

Through two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, including at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the race

Russell made an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Norris and Max Verstappen stayed out

The McLaren driver stopped five laps following the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

Verstappen was able to rejoin still in the first place, Russell having been unable to close in on the Red Bull car despite his newer rubber

Norris returned after George Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tyres to settle, soon closed his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into second place on lap 34

Norris asked his engineer how to run the remainder of his event, essentially asking whether he should settle for second or attack

He was instructed to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was readily could repel Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the margin extended substantially as the McLaren started to experience a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Even with losing nearly three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was able to hold off Russell because of the size of the advantage he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the championship - just one behind both McLaren teammates - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, even if he needs problems for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It's still a big gap, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've got," Verstappen stated

"In upcoming weekends we will try to take victory in the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we finish, but I'm extremely pleased of the entire team"

Piastri began fifth but dropped two places on the first circuit following being hit by Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a broken front wing

He trailed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but also out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could repass during the pit-stop period

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

"It proved to be a frustrating event from essentially start to finish in certain respects," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he commented: "Just attempt to put 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 make myself in the best position to capitalise if circumstances change"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, insufficiently close to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the finish, his Williams missing the speed to compete with the top teams in the dry conditions, following his heroic showing to start third in the wet weather

Isack Hadjar secured eighth place before the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time title winner made a flying start, up to 13th on the opening circuit and continued to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of other cars but was could employ his electric start to salvage a championship point after the worst qualifying session of his racing life