Norris Advances Closer to Title as Verstappen Claims Las Vegas Grand Prix Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris moved closer to his first championship with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place after the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

The Briton will claim the title 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 strong in the first half of the season, has not finished on the top three for six races

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

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

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

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

• Lando Norris continued his progress towards the championship losing the victory to Max Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's challenging run of form continued as his title hopes diminish

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

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton securing a single point for 10th after starting at the rear

From the beginning, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to protect his lead from pole position from Max Verstappen

However following an forceful move in front of Verstappen to head off the Dutchman's attack on the inner line, Norris misjudged his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

That allowed Verstappen to overtake into the lead while Norris also second place to George Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, featuring at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event

George Russell made an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Lando Norris and Verstappen stayed out

Norris pitted five circuits after the Mercedes and Max Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was able to rejoin still in the lead, George Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull car even with his newer rubber

Norris returned behind George Russell from his stop but after a few cautious laps to allow his tires to settle, soon closed his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

Norris inquired his race engineer how to manage the remainder of his event, effectively asking whether he should settle for second or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "chase down Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily could repel Lando's attacks, and in the closing stages the margin extended substantially as the McLaren car began to suffer a mechanical problem which has thus far not been defined

Despite losing almost three seconds a lap, Norris was could hold off 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 behind both McLaren drivers - was achieved in dominant fashion and maintains him in championship contention, at least theoretically, even if he requires issues for Lando Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It's still a big gap, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've got," Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will try 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 everyone"

Piastri began in fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit after being clouted by Lawson, who was soon eliminated of contention by a damaged front wing

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

The Australian finished behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the whole event on hard tyres following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five second time penalty for a start-line violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

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

Asked about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Just attempt to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need several of factors to favor me at this stage to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth place, insufficiently close to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh place at the flag, his Williams lacking the pace to compete with the top teams in the dry conditions, after his heroic performance to start third in the wet

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

The seven-time champion made a flying start, rising to 13th on the opening circuit and proceeded to advance positions

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 following the poorest qualifying performance of his racing life