Norris Edges Nearer to Title as Verstappen Claims Las Vegas F1 Race Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris moved closer to his first championship with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

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

Norris will win the title in the Qatar as long as he does not lose over five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

Piastri, so impressive in the first half of the season, has failed to finish on the top three for six consecutive events

"Max had a strong performance. I erred early on and was overly aggressive on that first turn," stated Norris

"It's still a positive outcome to secure second place. I've got to congratulate Verstappen and Red Bull"

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

The key stories of one of Formula 1's most high-profile races were:

• Lando Norris continued his momentum towards the championship despite the victory to Verstappen

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

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

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for tenth place after starting at the rear

At the start, Norris was true to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he fought hard to protect his lead from starting first from Max Verstappen

But after an forceful cut in front of Verstappen to head off the Verstappen's challenge on the inner line, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

This allowed Max Verstappen to drive past into the lead while Norris also the runner-up spot to George Russell

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

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

Norris pitted five circuits after the Mercedes and Max Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was able to rejoin still in the lead, George Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull car despite his newer rubber

Lando Norris returned after George Russell from his pit stop but following a few cautious laps to let his tyres to warm up, quickly reduced his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

The British driver asked his engineer how to run the remainder of his event, essentially asking 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 no chance. Verstappen was easily able to repel Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the gap increased substantially as the McLaren started to suffer a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Even with losing almost three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was able to defend against George Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - just one behind the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in title contention, at minimum theoretically, even if he requires problems for Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to optimize all we've have," Verstappen stated

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

Piastri started in fifth but lost two places on the first circuit following being hit by Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a damaged nose section

He followed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Strip but also position to Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the tire change phase

The Australian ended up after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the entire race on hard tyres following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second time penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It was a frustrating event from essentially start to finish in certain respects," Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Simply attempt to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously require several of factors to go my way now to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to take advantage if something happens"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth place, insufficiently close to gain from Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams car lacking the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, following his heroic showing to start third in the wet

Hadjar took eighth before the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time champion executed a flying start, rising to 13th on the first lap and continued to advance positions

He got stuck in a DRS train with a bunch of other cars but was able to use his strong beginning to salvage a championship point after the worst qualifying session of his career