Norris Edges Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Takes Las Vegas F1 Race Win

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped nearer to a maiden world title with second place in the Vegas race following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth after Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

Norris will claim 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

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

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

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

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

• Norris continued his progress towards the championship losing the win to Max Verstappen

• Piastri's challenging performance streak continued as his title hopes wane

• A superb win for Max Verstappen to keep him in the title fight

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a point for tenth place following starting at the rear

At the start, Norris was true to his claim that he was "not here not to take risks" as he fought hard to defend his lead from starting first from Verstappen

However following an forceful move in front of Verstappen to head off the Verstappen's challenge on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

This allowed Verstappen to overtake into the lead while Norris lost 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 collided with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the race

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

The McLaren driver stopped five laps after the Mercedes and Max Verstappen ten laps later

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

Lando Norris returned after George Russell from his stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tires to warm up, soon closed his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and overtook into runner-up position on lap 34

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

He was told to "go and get Max" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Verstappen was easily able to defend against Lando's challenges, and in the closing stages the gap extended substantially as the McLaren car began to experience a technical issue which has thus far remained unidentified

Even with losing nearly three seconds a lap, Norris was able to hold off George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had built while chasing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen'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 requires problems for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It remains a big gap, we always try to maximise everything we've have," Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to take victory in the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Piastri started in fifth but lost two places on the opening lap following being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a broken nose section

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

The Australian ended up after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the whole event on hard tyres after pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five second penalty for a start-line violation, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It was a disappointing race from essentially beginning to end in certain respects," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he commented: "Simply attempt to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need several of things to favor me now to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to take advantage if something happens"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth position, insufficiently close to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh at the finish, his Williams missing the pace to challenge with the top teams in the dry, after his impressive showing to start third in the wet weather

Hadjar secured eighth ahead of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, up to thirteenth on the opening circuit and proceeded to advance positions

He got stuck in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was able to employ his strong beginning to salvage a championship point following the worst qualifying performance of his racing life