Norris Edges Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Secures Vegas Grand Prix Win

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

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points heading to 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

Piastri, so impressive in the opening stages of the season, has not finished on the podium for six consecutive events

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

"It remains a good result to secure second place. I've got to praise Verstappen and Red Bull"

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

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

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

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

• A excellent victory for Max Verstappen to maintain him in the championship battle

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

From the beginning, Norris was true to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he fought hard to defend his lead from starting first from Max Verstappen

However after an forceful cut in front of Verstappen to block the Verstappen's attack on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

This enabled Verstappen to overtake into the lead while the British driver also second place to George Russell

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

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

The McLaren driver stopped five laps after the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

Verstappen was could rejoin still in the first place, George Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull even with his newer rubber

Lando Norris rejoined behind George Russell from his pit stop but after a few cautious laps to let his tyres to settle, quickly closed his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into second place on lap 34

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

He was instructed to "chase down Max" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily could repel Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the margin increased significantly as the McLaren car started to suffer a technical issue which has thus far remained unidentified

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a lap, Norris was able to defend against George Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while pursuing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the championship - just one less than both McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in title contention, at minimum mathematically, although he needs problems for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It's still a big gap, we consistently attempt to optimize all we've have," Max Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to win the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we finish, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Piastri started fifth but dropped two positions on the opening lap following being hit by Lawson, who was soon eliminated of contention by a broken front wing

He trailed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the Strip but also out to Leclerc, who he was able to overtake again during the pit-stop period

Piastri ended up behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the whole event on hard tyres after pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five-second time penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not clearly visible on replays

"It was a frustrating event from pretty much start to finish in certain respects," Oscar Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Simply attempt to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously need quite a lot of factors to favor me at this stage to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if something happens"

Leclerc hung on in sixth position, insufficiently close to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh at the flag, his Williams lacking the speed to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, after his heroic showing to qualify third in the wet

Isack Hadjar secured eighth place before the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion executed a flying start, up to thirteenth on the opening circuit and proceeded to move forwards

He got stuck in a DRS train with a group of other cars but was able to use his strong beginning to salvage a championship point following the worst qualifying session of his racing life