Lando Norris Advances Nearer to Title as Max Verstappen Secures Las Vegas F1 Race Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris moved nearer to his first world title with runner-up position in the Vegas race following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place behind Mercedes' George Russell, by thirty points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

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

Piastri, so impressive in the first half of the championship, has failed to finish on the podium for six races

"Verstappen had a good race. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that opening corner," stated Norris

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

After Qatar, the last event of the championship follows in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

The main developments of among Formula 1's most prestigious races were:

• Norris continued his momentum towards the championship despite the win to Max Verstappen

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

• A superb victory for Max Verstappen to maintain him in the title fight

• Fightbacks for both Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton securing a single point for 10th following starting at the back

At the start, Lando Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to protect his lead from pole position from Verstappen

However following an aggressive move in front of Verstappen to head off the Verstappen's attack on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and went too deep into the corner

This allowed Max Verstappen to overtake into the lead while the British driver lost second place to Russell

During two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, including at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually established dominance on the event

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

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

The Red Bull driver was could return still in the lead, Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull even with his fresher tyres

Norris returned after George Russell from his pit stop but following a few cautious laps to allow his tires to settle, quickly reduced his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes and overtook into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

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

He was told to "chase down Max" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was readily able to defend against Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the gap extended substantially as the McLaren started to suffer a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Even with dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Norris was able to defend against George Russell because of the size of the lead he had built while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - just one less than both McLaren drivers - was taken in dominant fashion and keeps him in championship contention, at least theoretically, although he needs problems for Lando Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It's still a big gap, we consistently attempt to maximise everything we've got," Max Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will attempt to win the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm very proud of everyone"

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

He followed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before overtaking him on the Strip but lost out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could repass during the tire change phase

Piastri finished behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the whole event on hard tyres after stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five-second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It was a disappointing race from pretty much start to finish in certain respects," Oscar Piastri informed race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Simply try to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously need several of factors to go my way now to take the title, but my only option is make myself in the best position to capitalise if something happens"

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

Isack Hadjar secured eighth before Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, up to 13th on the first lap and continued to advance positions

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could use his electric start to rescue a championship point following the worst qualifying session of his racing life