Norris Edges Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Secures Vegas F1 Race Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped nearer to his first championship with runner-up position in the Vegas race following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Norris now leads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place after the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

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

The Australian driver, so impressive in the opening stages of the championship, has failed to finish on the podium for six races

"Verstappen had a good race. I made the mistake at the beginning and was too punchy on that first turn," said Norris

"It remains a good result to secure second place. I've got to congratulate Max and Red Bull"

After Qatar, the final race of the championship follows in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

The key stories of one of Formula 1's most high-profile races were:

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

• Piastri's difficult performance streak continued as his title hopes diminish

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

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton securing a point for tenth place following starting at the rear

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

However after an forceful cut in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Verstappen's attack on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated 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 George Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the race

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

The McLaren driver stopped five circuits after the Mercedes driver and Verstappen ten laps later

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

Norris returned behind George Russell from his pit stop but following a few cautious laps to allow his tires to warm up, quickly closed his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into second place on lap 34

Norris asked his race engineer how to run the rest of his race, essentially asking whether he should settle for second place or attack

He was instructed to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily able to defend against Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the margin extended substantially as the McLaren started to suffer a technical issue which has thus far remained unidentified

Even with losing nearly three seconds a lap, Norris was could defend against George Russell because of the size of the advantage he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the season - just one less than both McLaren drivers - was taken in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at least theoretically, although he needs problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It's still a significant margin, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've have," Max Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will try to win the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

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

He followed Liam Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the Strip but also out to Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the tire change phase

The Australian ended up after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the entire race on hard tyres following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second penalty for a start-line violation, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It was a frustrating event from essentially start to finish in certain respects," Oscar Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he commented: "Just try to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously need quite a lot of factors to favor me now to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the best position to capitalise if something happens"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the finish, his Williams missing the pace to compete with the top teams in the dry, after his heroic showing to start in third in the wet

Hadjar took eighth place ahead of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time champion executed a strong getaway, up to thirteenth on the opening circuit and continued to move forwards

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a group of additional vehicles but was able to use his strong beginning to salvage a point after the poorest qualifying performance of his career