Lando Norris Advances Nearer to Championship as Max Verstappen Takes Las Vegas Grand Prix Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris moved nearer to a maiden championship with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Norris currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place after Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming 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

The Australian driver, 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 early on and was too punchy on that opening corner," said Norris

"It's still a positive outcome to secure second. I've got to praise Verstappen and Red Bull"

Following Qatar, the last event of the championship follows in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

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

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

• Piastri's challenging run of form persisted as his title hopes wane

• A excellent victory for Verstappen to keep him in the title fight

• Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a single point for tenth place after starting at the rear

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

However after an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to block the Verstappen's challenge on the inner line, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the turn

This enabled Verstappen to drive past into the first place while the British driver lost the runner-up spot to Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, including at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen gradually established dominance on the race

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

Norris stopped five circuits after the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

Verstappen was able to rejoin still in the lead, Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull even with his fresher tyres

Lando Norris rejoined after George Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to let his tires to warm up, soon closed his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes driver and overtook into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

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

He was instructed to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Max Verstappen was readily able to defend against Norris' challenges, and in the closing stages the gap extended substantially as the McLaren car began to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far remained unidentified

Despite dropping almost three seconds a lap, Norris was able to defend against Russell because of the size of the advantage he had established while chasing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the championship - only one behind the two McLaren teammates - was taken in dominant fashion and maintains him in championship contention, at least theoretically, although he needs problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It remains a big gap, we consistently attempt to maximise everything we've have," Max Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will attempt to win the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm extremely pleased of the entire team"

Oscar Piastri began in fifth but dropped two positions on the first circuit after being clouted by Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of contention by a damaged nose section

He followed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but also position to Leclerc, who he was able to repass during the tire change phase

The Australian finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the entire race on hard tyres after pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It was a frustrating event from essentially beginning to end in some ways," Oscar Piastri informed race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would approach the remaining events, he said: "Just attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I clearly need several of factors to favor me at this stage to win, but all I can do is make myself in the best position to capitalise if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth place, insufficiently close to gain from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams missing the speed to compete with the leading outfits in the dry, following his heroic showing to qualify third in the wet

Isack Hadjar secured eighth before the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time title winner made a flying start, up to 13th on the first lap and proceeded 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 championship point after the poorest qualifying session of his racing life