Lando Norris Edges Nearer to Championship as Max Verstappen Claims Vegas F1 Race Win

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

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

Norris will secure 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 opening stages of the championship, has not finished on the top three for six consecutive events

"Max had a strong performance. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that opening corner," stated Norris

"It remains a good result to secure second. I've got to praise Max and his team"

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

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

• Lando Norris continued his momentum towards the title losing the victory to Verstappen

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

• A superb victory for Verstappen to maintain him in the title fight

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, following a difficult qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for 10th following starting at the rear

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

But following an forceful cut in front of Verstappen to block the Dutchman's challenge on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

That allowed Max Verstappen to overtake into the lead while the British driver lost the runner-up spot to Russell

During two VSC periods for some early incidents, including at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the event

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

Norris pitted five circuits following the Mercedes and Max Verstappen ten laps later

The Red Bull driver was able to rejoin still in the first place, Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull despite his newer rubber

Lando Norris returned behind George Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tyres to settle, soon reduced his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

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

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Max Verstappen was readily could defend against Norris' challenges, and in the closing stages the gap extended significantly as the McLaren started to experience a technical issue which has thus far not been defined

Despite losing almost three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was could hold off George Russell because of the size of the advantage he had built while chasing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the season - only one less than the two McLaren teammates - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at least mathematically, even if he needs issues for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It remains a big gap, we always try to optimize everything we've got," Max Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will attempt to take victory in the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm extremely pleased of the entire team"

Piastri started in fifth but lost two positions on the opening lap following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon eliminated of contention by a broken nose section

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

Piastri ended up after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the whole event on the durable compound following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five second time penalty for a start-line violation, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It was a disappointing event from pretty much beginning to end in certain respects," Oscar Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would approach the remaining events, he commented: "Just try to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously require several of factors to favor me at this stage to take the title, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the best position to capitalise if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth position, insufficiently close to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams car missing the pace to compete with the leading outfits in the dry, after his impressive showing to start in third in the wet weather

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

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

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was able to employ his strong beginning to rescue a championship point following the poorest qualifying session of his career