Lando Norris Advances Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Takes Las Vegas F1 Race Win

McLaren's Lando Norris moved closer to his first world title with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

Norris now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place behind Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

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

Piastri, so impressive in the first half of the season, has failed to finish on the podium for six races

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

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

After Qatar, the final race of the season takes place in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

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

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

• Piastri's challenging performance streak persisted as his title hopes diminish

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

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, following a difficult qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for tenth place following beginning at the back

From the beginning, Norris was true to his claim that he was "not here not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his advantage from starting first from Verstappen

However following an forceful move in front of Verstappen to head off the Dutchman's attack on the inner line, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking point and went too deep into the corner

That enabled Max Verstappen to overtake into the lead while Norris also second place to Russell

During two VSC periods for some early incidents, including at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually established dominance on the event

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

Norris stopped five circuits after the Mercedes and Max Verstappen ten laps later

The Red Bull driver was able to rejoin still in the first place, Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull car despite his newer rubber

Norris rejoined after Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to let his tires to warm up, soon closed his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into second place on lap 34

Norris asked his engineer how to manage the remainder of his event, essentially asking whether he should accept second or challenge for the lead

He was told to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily could defend against Lando's attacks, and in the final laps the gap increased significantly 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 could hold off Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - just one behind the two McLaren teammates - was achieved in emphatic style and maintains him in title contention, at least theoretically, even if he requires issues for Norris in the final two events to pass him

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

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to take victory in the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Oscar Piastri started in fifth but dropped two positions on the first circuit after being hit by Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a broken nose section

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

Piastri finished behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the whole event on hard tyres following stopping during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not clearly visible on replays

"It proved to be a disappointing race from pretty much start to finish in certain respects," Oscar Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would approach the remaining events, he said: "Just try to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously need several of things to favor me now to take the title, but all I can do is make myself in the ideal situation to capitalise if something happens"

Leclerc hung on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams car missing the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, following his impressive performance to qualify third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time champion made a flying start, rising to thirteenth on the opening circuit and continued to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a bunch of other cars but was able to employ his strong beginning to rescue a point after the poorest qualifying performance of his career