Lando Norris Advances Nearer to Championship as Verstappen Claims Las Vegas Grand Prix Win

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

Norris currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place after Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points going into the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

The Briton will claim the title in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender over five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so impressive in the first half of the championship, has failed to finish on the top three for six consecutive events

"Max had a good race. I erred early on and was too punchy on that opening corner," said Norris

"It remains a good result to secure second. I've got to praise Max and his team"

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

The main developments of one of Formula 1's most prestigious races included:

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

• Piastri's difficult performance streak continued as his championship chances diminish

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

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

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

However following an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Verstappen's attack on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

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

During two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, including at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the race

Russell undertook an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Norris and Max Verstappen stayed out

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

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

Lando Norris returned behind Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to allow his tires to settle, soon reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into runner-up position on lap 34

Norris asked his engineer how to manage the rest of his event, essentially questioning whether he should accept second place or attack

He was told to "go and get Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Max Verstappen was readily could repel Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the gap extended significantly as the McLaren car started to experience a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Even with losing nearly three seconds a circuit, Norris was could hold off Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the championship - only one behind both McLaren teammates - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in title contention, at minimum mathematically, although he requires problems for Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It remains a big gap, we always try to maximise everything we've have," Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will attempt to take victory in the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Oscar Piastri started fifth but dropped two places on the opening lap after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a damaged nose section

He trailed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but also out to Leclerc, who he was could repass during the tire change phase

The Australian ended up after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran 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 starting procedure violation, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

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

Asked about how he would tackle the remaining events, he commented: "Simply try to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly require several of things to favor me at this stage to win, but all I can do is make myself in the best position to take advantage if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh at the finish, his Williams missing the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, after his heroic performance to qualify in third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time title winner made a strong getaway, rising to 13th on the first lap and continued to advance positions

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a bunch of other cars but was able to use his strong beginning to salvage a championship point after the worst qualifying session of his racing life