Norris Moves Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Claims Vegas Grand Prix Victory

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

Norris currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

The Briton will win the title in the Qatar as long as he doesn't surrender over five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

Piastri, so impressive in the opening stages of the championship, has failed to finish on the top three for six races

"Max had a good race. I made the mistake at the beginning and was too punchy on that opening corner," said Norris

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

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

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

• Norris continued his progress towards the title despite the victory to Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's difficult run of form persisted as his title hopes diminish

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

• Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for 10th following beginning at the back

At the start, Lando Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here not to take risks" as he fought hard to defend his lead from starting first from Max Verstappen

But after an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to head off the Dutchman's challenge on the inside, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking point and ran deep into the corner

That allowed Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place 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 the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Verstappen slowly 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 circuits after the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen ten laps later

The Red Bull driver was able to rejoin still in the first place, Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull car even with his fresher tyres

Norris returned behind Russell from his pit stop but following a few cautious laps to allow his tyres to settle, soon closed his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver inquired his engineer how to run the rest of his race, essentially asking whether he should accept second place or attack

He was told to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Max Verstappen was easily could repel Lando's attacks, and in the final laps the gap extended substantially as the McLaren began to suffer a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Despite losing nearly three seconds a circuit, Norris was could hold off Russell because of the size of the advantage he had established while chasing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the season - just one behind both McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and keeps him in title contention, at minimum theoretically, although he needs issues for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

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

"During the coming events we will attempt to win the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we finish, but I'm very proud of everyone"

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

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

Piastri ended up behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the whole event on the durable compound following stopping during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five-second time penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

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

Asked about how he would tackle the remaining events, he commented: "Simply attempt to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need quite a lot of things to favor me at this stage to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth position, insufficiently close to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh place at the flag, his Williams car lacking the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, after his impressive showing to qualify in third in the wet

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

The seven-time title winner executed a strong getaway, up to thirteenth on the first lap and continued to move forwards

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a group of additional vehicles but was could use his strong beginning to salvage a point after the poorest qualifying performance of his racing life