Norris Moves Nearer to Title as Max Verstappen Secures Las Vegas Grand Prix Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped closer to a maiden championship with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Norris now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points going into the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

The Briton will win the championship in the desert as long as he does not lose over five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the first half of the championship, has failed to finish on the podium for six consecutive events

"Max had a good race. I erred at the beginning and was overly aggressive on that first turn," 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 championship takes place in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

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

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

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

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

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

At the start, Lando Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his lead from starting first from Max Verstappen

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

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

During two VSC periods for some early incidents, featuring at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the race

Russell made an early tire change for the more durable compound, but Lando Norris and Verstappen stayed out

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

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

Lando Norris rejoined after Russell from his pit stop but following a several careful circuits to let his tyres to warm up, soon reduced his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris asked his engineer how to manage the remainder of his event, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second or attack

He was instructed to "chase down Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Verstappen was readily able to defend against Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the margin increased substantially as the McLaren began to experience a mechanical problem which has so far not been defined

Despite losing almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was could hold off Russell because of the size of the lead he had built while chasing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the season - only one less than both McLaren teammates - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at least theoretically, even if he requires problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It remains a big gap, we always try to optimize everything we've got," Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will try to win the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

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

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

Piastri ended up after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the entire race on hard tyres following pitting during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It was a frustrating race from pretty much beginning to end in certain respects," Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would tackle the final two races, he commented: "Just attempt to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly need several of factors to go my way at this stage to take the title, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams missing the speed to compete with the top teams in the dry, following his impressive performance to qualify in third in the wet

Hadjar secured eighth ahead of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time champion executed a strong getaway, rising to thirteenth on the opening circuit and proceeded to move forwards

He became trapped in a DRS train with a bunch of other cars but was able to use his electric start to rescue a point following the worst qualifying session of his racing life