Norris Advances Nearer to Championship as Max Verstappen Claims Las Vegas F1 Race Win

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped closer to his first championship with runner-up position in the Vegas race behind 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 penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

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

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

"Max had a good race. I erred at the beginning and was too punchy on that first turn," said Norris

"It's still a good result to get second place. I've got to praise Max and his team"

Following Qatar, the final race of the championship takes place in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

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

• Lando Norris maintained his momentum towards the championship losing the victory to Verstappen

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

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

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for 10th after beginning at the rear

At the start, Norris was true to his claim that he was "not present not to take risks" as he fought hard to protect his advantage from pole position from Max Verstappen

However after an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Verstappen's challenge on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

This allowed Verstappen to drive past into the lead while the British driver lost second place to Russell

During two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, featuring at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the event

George Russell undertook an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen remained on track

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

The Red Bull driver was could return still in the first place, George Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull despite his newer rubber

Norris returned behind George Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to let his tyres to warm up, soon reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes and swept by into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

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

He was instructed to "go and get Max" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Max Verstappen was readily could defend against Lando's challenges, and in the closing stages the margin increased substantially as the McLaren car began to experience a technical issue which has so far remained unidentified

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Norris was able to hold off Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the season - just one behind the two McLaren teammates - was taken in dominant fashion and maintains him in title contention, at least mathematically, although he needs problems for Norris in the final two events to pass him

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

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

Oscar Piastri started fifth but lost two places on the opening lap after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of contention by a broken front wing

He followed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the Strip but lost out to Leclerc, who he was could repass during the tire change phase

Piastri ended up behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the whole event on the durable compound following pitting during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on replays

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

Questioned about how he would approach the remaining events, he commented: "Simply attempt to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly require several of factors to favor me at this stage to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to take advantage if something happens"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth place, insufficiently close to gain from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh at the flag, his Williams car lacking the pace to compete with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, after his heroic showing to start in third in the wet

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

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, rising to 13th on the first lap and proceeded to move forwards

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of other cars but was able to use his electric start to salvage a point after the poorest qualifying performance of his career