Lando Norris Edges Nearer to Championship as Max Verstappen Claims Vegas Grand Prix Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris moved nearer to his first championship with second place in the Vegas race behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points going into the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will secure the title in the desert as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so impressive in the first half of the championship, has not finished on the top three for six races

"Verstappen had a strong performance. I made the mistake early on and was overly aggressive on that first turn," stated Norris

"It's still a good result to get second. I've got to praise Max and Red Bull"

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

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

• Norris continued his progress towards the title losing the victory to Max Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's difficult run of form persisted as his championship chances wane

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

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

From the beginning, Lando Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he fought hard to protect his lead from pole position from Verstappen

However after an aggressive cut in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Dutchman's challenge on the inner line, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

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 several opening-lap incidents, including at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event

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

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

Verstappen was could return still in the first place, Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull car despite his newer rubber

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

Norris asked his engineer how to manage the rest of his race, essentially asking whether he should settle for second or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Max Verstappen was easily could repel Norris' challenges, and in the final laps the gap extended 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 lap, Lando Norris was could defend against Russell because of the size of the lead he had built while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the championship - only one behind the two McLaren teammates - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in title contention, at least theoretically, even if he requires problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It's still a big gap, we always try to maximise everything we've got," Max 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"

Piastri began fifth but dropped two places on the first circuit following being hit by Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of contention by a damaged nose section

He followed 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 pit-stop period

Piastri finished after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the whole event on the durable compound following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second time penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It proved to be a frustrating race from essentially beginning to end in some ways," Oscar Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Simply try to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously require several of things to go my way at this stage to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if circumstances change"

Leclerc hung on in sixth position, not close enough to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh place at the flag, his Williams car missing the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, following his heroic performance to start third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time champion made a flying start, up to 13th on the opening circuit and continued to move forwards

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was could use his strong beginning to salvage a championship point after the poorest qualifying session of his racing life