Lando Norris Advances Nearer to Title as Max Verstappen Takes Vegas Grand Prix Win

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped closer to his first championship with runner-up position in the Vegas race behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

Norris now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

The Briton will claim the title in the desert as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so strong in the opening stages of the championship, has not finished on the podium 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 positive outcome to get second. I've got to praise Verstappen and Red Bull"

Following Qatar, the final race of the championship follows 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 victory to Max Verstappen

• Piastri's difficult performance streak continued as his championship chances diminish

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

• Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton securing a point for 10th after starting at the back

From the beginning, Norris was true to his claim that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to protect his advantage from starting first from Max Verstappen

But after an aggressive cut 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 turn

That allowed Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while the British driver also the runner-up spot to George Russell

During two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the race

George Russell undertook an early pit stop for the hard tyres, but Norris and Max Verstappen stayed out

Norris stopped five circuits after the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was could return still in the first place, George Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull despite his newer rubber

Norris rejoined after Russell from his pit stop but following a few cautious laps to let his tyres to warm up, quickly closed his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

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

He was told to "chase down Max" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Max Verstappen was readily able to repel Norris' challenges, and in the final laps the gap increased substantially as the McLaren car started to experience a mechanical problem which has so far not been defined

Despite losing nearly three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was able to defend against George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while chasing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the championship - just one less than the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in title contention, at minimum mathematically, although he requires issues for Lando Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to maximise everything we've got," Verstappen stated

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to take victory in the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Oscar Piastri began in fifth but lost two places on the first circuit after being hit by Lawson, who was soon taken out of the battle by a broken front wing

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 could overtake again during the tire change phase

The Australian finished after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on the durable compound after stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five second time penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It proved to be a disappointing event from pretty much beginning to end in certain respects," Oscar Piastri informed race broadcasters

Asked about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Simply try to put myself in the best position I can. I clearly need quite a lot of factors to go my way now to win, but my only option is make myself in the best position to take advantage if circumstances change"

Leclerc hung on in sixth place, not close enough to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the flag, his Williams car lacking the speed to compete with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, after his impressive performance to start in third in the wet

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

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, up to thirteenth on the first lap and continued to move forwards

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a bunch of other cars but was could use his strong beginning to salvage a championship point after the worst qualifying session of his racing life