Lando Norris Edges Nearer to Title as Verstappen Secures Las Vegas F1 Race Victory

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

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

Norris will secure the title in the Qatar as long as he doesn't surrender more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the first half of the championship, 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 positive outcome to get second. I've got to congratulate Verstappen and Red Bull"

After Qatar, the last event of the championship takes place in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

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

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

• Oscar Piastri's difficult run of form continued as his championship chances diminish

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

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for 10th following starting at the back

At the start, Lando Norris was faithful to his claim that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his advantage from starting first from Max Verstappen

But after an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Verstappen's challenge on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking point and went too deep into the turn

That allowed Verstappen to overtake into the lead while the British driver also the runner-up spot to Russell

During two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly established dominance on the event

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

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

The Red Bull driver was could rejoin still in the lead, Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull car even with his fresher tyres

Lando Norris rejoined behind Russell from his pit stop but following a several careful circuits to allow his tyres to warm up, quickly closed his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into second place on lap 34

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

He was told to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was readily could repel Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the gap extended substantially as the McLaren started to experience a technical issue which has so far not been defined

Despite dropping almost three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was able to hold off Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - only one behind both McLaren drivers - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in title contention, at minimum mathematically, even if he needs issues for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It's still a significant margin, we always try to optimize all we've got," Verstappen stated

"In upcoming weekends we will try to take victory in the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Piastri began in fifth but dropped two places on the opening lap after being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was quickly taken out of contention by a broken front wing

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

Piastri finished behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the whole event on the durable compound 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 frustrating race from essentially start to finish in some ways," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Asked about how he would approach the final two races, he said: "Simply attempt to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need quite a lot of things to favor me now to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to capitalise if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth place, insufficiently close to gain from Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams lacking the pace to challenge with the top teams in the dry, after his impressive showing to qualify in third in the wet weather

Isack Hadjar secured eighth place before Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion executed a strong getaway, rising to thirteenth on the opening circuit and proceeded to advance positions

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a group of additional vehicles but was able to use his electric start to salvage a championship point after the worst qualifying session of his racing life