Norris Edges Nearer to Championship as Max Verstappen Secures Vegas F1 Race Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped nearer to a maiden championship with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

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

Norris will win 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 races

"Verstappen 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 secure second. I've got to congratulate Max and Red Bull"

After Qatar, the last event of the season follows in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

The key stories of one of Formula 1's most prestigious races were:

• Norris maintained his momentum towards the championship losing the victory to Verstappen

• Piastri's difficult run of form persisted as his championship chances wane

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

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for tenth place after beginning at the rear

From the beginning, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not present not to take risks" as he fought hard to defend his lead from pole position from Max Verstappen

But after an aggressive move in front of Verstappen to head off the Dutchman's challenge on the inside, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking zone and ran deep into the turn

This enabled Verstappen to overtake into the first place while Norris also the runner-up spot to George Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event

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

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

Verstappen was able to return still in the lead, George Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull even with his newer rubber

Norris rejoined after George Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to let his tyres to warm up, soon reduced his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into second place on lap 34

Norris inquired his race engineer how to manage the rest of his race, essentially asking whether he should accept second place or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "chase down Max" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Max Verstappen was easily could repel Lando's attacks, and in the final laps the margin extended substantially as the McLaren car began to suffer a technical issue which has so far not been defined

Even with dropping nearly three seconds a lap, Norris was able to defend against George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while pursuing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - just one behind the two McLaren drivers - was taken in dominant fashion and keeps him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, although he needs problems for Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to maximise everything we've have," Max Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will try to win the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Piastri began in fifth but lost two places on the opening lap following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly taken out of contention by a damaged nose section

He trailed Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but also out to Charles Leclerc, who he was able to overtake again during the tire change phase

Piastri finished behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the whole event on the durable compound after pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five-second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not clearly visible on replays

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

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he commented: "Just attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously need several of factors to favor me at this stage to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to take advantage if something happens"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh at the finish, his Williams missing the pace to compete with the leading outfits in the dry, following his impressive showing to start third in the wet weather

Isack Hadjar secured eighth ahead of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion made a flying start, up to 13th on the first lap and continued to advance positions

He got stuck in a DRS train with a group of other cars but was able to use his strong beginning to rescue a championship point following the poorest qualifying session of his racing life