Norris Edges Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Claims Vegas Grand Prix Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris moved closer to a maiden championship with runner-up position in the Vegas race following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Norris currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points going into the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

Norris will claim the championship in the desert as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so impressive in the opening stages of the championship, has failed to finish on the podium for six races

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

"It's still a good result to get second. I've got to praise Max and Red Bull"

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

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

• Lando Norris continued his momentum towards the championship 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

• Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, following a difficult qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for 10th 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 battled aggressively to protect his lead from starting first from Max Verstappen

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

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

During two virtual safety cars 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 Lando Norris and Verstappen stayed out

The McLaren driver pitted five circuits after the Mercedes driver and Verstappen ten laps later

Verstappen was could rejoin still in the lead, Russell having been unable to close in on the Red Bull even with his fresher tyres

Lando Norris rejoined behind George Russell from his pit stop but following a few cautious laps to let his tires to settle, soon closed his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

The British driver asked his race engineer how to manage the remainder of his event, essentially questioning whether he should settle for second or attack

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily could repel Lando's attacks, and in the final laps the gap extended significantly as the McLaren started to suffer a mechanical problem which has thus far not been defined

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

The Verstappen's sixth win of the championship - only one behind the two McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at minimum theoretically, even if he needs problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

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

"During the coming events we will try to take victory in the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we finish, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Piastri began fifth but dropped two places on the opening lap after being clouted by Lawson, who was soon taken out of contention by a damaged front wing

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

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

"It was a disappointing event from pretty much start to finish in certain respects," Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Simply try to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly require several of factors to favor me at this stage to take the title, but my only option is make myself in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams lacking the pace to compete with the top teams in the dry, following his heroic showing to qualify in third in the wet weather

Hadjar took eighth place ahead of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time title winner made a strong getaway, up to thirteenth on the first lap and proceeded to move forwards

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a bunch of other cars but was could use his strong beginning to rescue a point after the worst qualifying performance of his racing life