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

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped closer to his first world title with runner-up position in the Vegas race following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will secure the championship in the desert as long as he does not lose 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 podium for six consecutive events

"Max had a good race. I erred early on and was overly aggressive on that opening corner," stated Norris

"It's still a good result to secure second. I've got to praise Max and Red Bull"

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

The main developments of among Formula 1's most high-profile races were:

• Norris maintained his momentum towards the championship despite the win to Max Verstappen

• Piastri's challenging performance streak persisted as his championship chances wane

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

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for 10th after beginning at the rear

From the beginning, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his advantage from pole position from Verstappen

However following an forceful move in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Dutchman's challenge on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking zone and went too deep into the corner

This allowed Max Verstappen to overtake into the first place while the British driver also second place to George Russell

During two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, including at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the event

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

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

The Red Bull driver was able to return still in the first place, George Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull even with his newer rubber

Lando Norris returned behind Russell from his stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tyres to warm up, soon closed his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

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

He was told to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was easily able to defend against Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the margin increased substantially as the McLaren car began to experience a mechanical problem which has so far not been defined

Even with dropping almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was able to hold off Russell because of the size of the advantage he had built while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - just one less than both McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, even if he requires problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to optimize everything we've got," Max Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will attempt to take victory in the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Piastri began fifth but lost two places on the opening lap after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon eliminated of the battle by a broken front wing

He followed Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but lost out to Charles Leclerc, who he was able to overtake again during the tire change phase

The Australian finished behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the whole event on hard tyres following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It proved to be a frustrating event from pretty much start to finish in certain respects," Piastri told race broadcasters

Questioned 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 go my way at this stage to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if circumstances change"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, insufficiently close to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the finish, his Williams car missing the speed to challenge with the top teams in the dry, following his impressive performance to start in third in the wet weather

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

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

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could use his strong beginning to rescue a championship point after the worst qualifying performance of his racing life