Norris Moves Closer to Championship as Verstappen Takes Vegas F1 Race Win

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

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind Mercedes' 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 doesn't surrender over five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so impressive in the first half of the season, has failed to finish on the podium for six races

"Verstappen had a strong performance. I erred at the beginning and was overly aggressive on that first turn," said Norris

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

Following Qatar, the last event of the season takes place in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

The key stories of among Formula 1's most prestigious races included:

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

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

• A excellent victory for Max Verstappen to keep him in the championship battle

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

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

However following an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to block the Dutchman's attack on the inner line, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

This enabled Verstappen to overtake into the lead while Norris also second place to Russell

During two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the race

Russell undertook an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Norris and Verstappen remained on track

The McLaren driver stopped five circuits following the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen 10

Verstappen was able to rejoin still in the lead, George Russell having been unable to close in on the Red Bull despite his newer rubber

Norris returned after George Russell from his stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tyres to settle, quickly closed his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes driver and overtook into second place on lap 34

The British driver asked his engineer how to run the rest of his event, essentially questioning whether he should settle for second or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "go and get Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was readily could repel Lando's attacks, and in the closing stages the margin extended significantly as the McLaren began to experience a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando 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 - only one less than the two McLaren teammates - was achieved in dominant fashion and maintains him in championship contention, at least theoretically, although he requires problems for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've got," Max 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 finish, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Piastri started in fifth but dropped two positions on the first circuit following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon eliminated of contention by a damaged front wing

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

Piastri finished behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on the durable compound following stopping during the initial VSC, but was given a five-second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not clearly visible on replays

"It was a disappointing race from essentially start to finish in some ways," Oscar Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he commented: "Simply try to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly require several of things to go my way at this stage to take the title, but my only option is make myself in the ideal situation to take advantage if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth position, insufficiently close to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams car missing the speed to compete with the top teams in the dry, after his heroic showing to start in third in the wet weather

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

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

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was able to employ his strong beginning to rescue a championship point after the worst qualifying performance of his racing life