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

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped nearer to a maiden championship with second place in the Vegas race behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

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

Norris will claim the championship in the Qatar as long as he does not lose over five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

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

"Verstappen had a good race. I erred early on and was overly aggressive on that opening corner," said Norris

"It remains a positive outcome to secure second place. I've got to congratulate 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 high-profile races were:

• Lando Norris continued his momentum towards the title despite the win to Verstappen

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

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

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a single point for tenth place after beginning at the back

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 starting first from Verstappen

However after an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to head off the Verstappen's attack on the inner line, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking point and ran deep into the turn

This enabled Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while Norris also second place to Russell

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

George Russell undertook an early tire change for the more durable compound, but Lando Norris and Verstappen stayed out

Norris pitted five laps following the Mercedes driver and Verstappen ten laps later

The Red Bull driver was able to return still in the first place, Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull car even with his newer rubber

Lando Norris rejoined after George Russell from his stop but after a few cautious laps to allow his tires to warm up, soon closed his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

The British driver inquired his engineer how to manage the rest of his event, essentially questioning whether he should accept second place or attack

He was instructed to "chase down Max" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Max Verstappen was easily could defend against Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the gap increased substantially as the McLaren car started to experience a technical issue which has so far not been defined

Despite losing nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was could defend against George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while pursuing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the championship - only one less than both McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, although he needs problems for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It's still a big gap, we consistently attempt to optimize everything we've got," Max Verstappen said

"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 extremely pleased of everyone"

Oscar Piastri began in fifth but dropped two places on the first circuit following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of the battle by a broken nose section

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

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

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

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he commented: "Just attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously need several of things to favor me at this stage to take the title, but all I can do is make myself in the ideal situation to take advantage if circumstances change"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, insufficiently close to gain from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh place at the finish, his Williams car lacking the pace to compete with the top teams in the dry conditions, following his impressive showing to qualify in third in the wet

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

The seven-time title winner executed a strong getaway, up to 13th on the opening circuit and continued to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a bunch of additional vehicles but was able to use his strong beginning to rescue a championship point following the poorest qualifying session of his racing life