Lando Norris Edges Nearer to Title as Max Verstappen Secures Vegas Grand Prix Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped closer to a maiden championship with second place in the Vegas race following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Norris now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will win the championship in the desert as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

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

"Verstappen had a strong performance. I erred at the beginning and was too punchy on that opening corner," stated Norris

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

After Qatar, the last event of the season follows in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

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

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

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

• A excellent win for Verstappen to maintain him in the title fight

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a point for 10th following beginning at the rear

From the beginning, Lando Norris was true to his statement that he was "not here not to take risks" as he fought hard to defend his lead from pole position from Max Verstappen

But after an forceful move in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Dutchman's challenge on the inside, Norris miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the turn

This allowed Max Verstappen to overtake into the lead while Norris lost the runner-up spot to George Russell

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

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

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

The Red Bull driver was could rejoin still in the lead, George Russell having been unable to close in on the Red Bull despite his newer rubber

Lando Norris rejoined after Russell from his stop but following a few cautious laps to allow his tires to warm up, soon closed his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into runner-up position on lap 34

Norris asked his engineer how to run the rest of his event, effectively questioning whether he should accept second or challenge for the lead

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily able to defend against Norris' challenges, and in the final laps the gap extended significantly as the McLaren started to experience a technical issue which has so far not been defined

Even with losing nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was able to hold off Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had built while chasing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the championship - only one behind both McLaren teammates - was achieved in emphatic style and maintains him in title contention, at minimum theoretically, although he needs issues for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

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

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt 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 everyone"

Piastri began in fifth but dropped two places on the first circuit after being clouted by Lawson, who was soon taken out of contention by a broken nose section

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

Piastri finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the entire race on hard tyres after stopping during the initial VSC, but was given a five second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

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

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Simply try to put myself in the best position I can. I clearly need several of things to favor me at this stage to take the title, but my only option is make myself in the best position to capitalise if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth position, insufficiently close to gain from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh at the flag, his Williams lacking the speed to challenge with the top teams in the dry, following his heroic showing to qualify third in the wet weather

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

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

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a group of other cars but was able to employ his strong beginning to rescue a championship point after the worst qualifying performance of his racing life