Lando Norris Edges Nearer to Title as Verstappen Claims Vegas F1 Race Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped nearer to a maiden championship with runner-up position in the Vegas race behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place after the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points going into the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will win the title in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender over five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so impressive in the opening stages of the season, has not finished on the podium for six races

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

"It's still a positive outcome to get second. I've got to congratulate Verstappen and his team"

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

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

• Lando Norris continued his momentum towards the title losing the win to Verstappen

• Piastri's difficult performance streak persisted as his championship chances diminish

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

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for 10th following beginning at the rear

At the start, Norris was faithful to his claim that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he fought hard to protect his advantage from starting first from Verstappen

But after an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Verstappen's challenge on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

This allowed Max Verstappen to drive past into the lead while the British driver also the runner-up spot to George Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, including at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event

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

Norris stopped five laps after the Mercedes driver and Verstappen 10

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

Lando Norris rejoined behind George Russell from his pit stop but following a several careful circuits to allow his tires to warm up, quickly closed his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver inquired his race engineer how to manage the remainder of his event, effectively asking whether he should settle for second or challenge for the lead

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Verstappen was readily able to repel Lando's attacks, and in the closing stages the gap extended significantly as the McLaren began to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far not been defined

Despite dropping almost three seconds a lap, Norris was able to defend against Russell because of the size of the advantage he had built while chasing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the season - only one behind the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in dominant fashion and maintains him in title contention, at minimum theoretically, although he needs issues for Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It remains a big gap, we consistently attempt to optimize everything we've got," Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will attempt to take victory in the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Piastri started in fifth but dropped two positions on the opening lap following being hit by Lawson, who was quickly taken out of contention by a broken nose section

He trailed Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but also position to Leclerc, who he was could repass during the pit-stop period

The Australian finished behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the whole event on hard tyres after pitting during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five second time penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It proved to be a disappointing race from pretty much start to finish in some ways," Piastri told race broadcasters

Asked about how he would tackle the remaining events, he commented: "Just attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously need several of factors to favor me now to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh place at the flag, his Williams missing the pace to challenge with the top teams in the dry conditions, after his impressive showing to qualify in third in the wet weather

Isack Hadjar took eighth place before Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time title winner executed a flying start, rising to thirteenth on the first lap and proceeded to move forwards

He got stuck in a DRS train with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could employ his strong beginning to salvage a point following the worst qualifying performance of his racing life