Lando Norris Moves Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Takes Las Vegas Grand Prix Win

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped closer to his first championship with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Norris now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points going into the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will claim 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 strong in the first half of the season, has not finished on the podium for six races

"Max had a good race. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that first turn," stated Norris

"It's still a positive outcome to get second. I've got to congratulate Max and Red Bull"

Following Qatar, the final race of the championship takes place in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

The key stories of one of Formula 1's most prestigious races included:

• Lando Norris maintained his progress towards the championship despite the win to Verstappen

• Piastri's difficult run of form persisted as his title hopes diminish

• A superb win for Max Verstappen to keep him in the championship battle

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for 10th after starting at the back

At the start, Norris was faithful to his claim that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to protect his advantage from pole position from Verstappen

However following an aggressive move in front of Verstappen to head off the Dutchman's challenge on the inside, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking point 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 start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen slowly established dominance on the event

George Russell undertook an early tire change for the more durable compound, but Lando Norris and Verstappen remained on track

The McLaren driver stopped five circuits after the Mercedes driver and Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was could rejoin still in the first place, Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull car even with his newer rubber

Norris rejoined after George Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to allow his tires to settle, soon reduced his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

The British driver asked his race engineer how to run the rest of his event, effectively asking whether he should settle for second place or attack

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was readily could defend against Lando's challenges, and in the closing stages the margin extended significantly as the McLaren began to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far remained unidentified

Even with dropping almost three seconds a circuit, 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 victory of the season - only one behind the two McLaren teammates - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in championship contention, at least theoretically, even if he needs issues for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It's still a significant margin, we always try to maximise everything we've got," Verstappen stated

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to win the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Oscar Piastri started fifth but dropped two places on the first circuit following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of contention by a damaged front wing

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

The Australian finished behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the entire race on the durable compound following pitting during the initial VSC, but was given a five second penalty for a start-line violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It proved to be a frustrating race from essentially beginning to end in certain respects," Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned 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 factors to favor me now to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Leclerc held on in sixth place, insufficiently close to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh at the flag, his Williams car lacking the pace to compete with the leading outfits in the dry, after his impressive performance to qualify in third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time champion made a flying start, up to thirteenth on the opening circuit and continued to advance positions

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a group of additional vehicles but was could employ his electric start to rescue a championship point following the worst qualifying performance of his racing life