Lando Norris Moves Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Takes Vegas Grand Prix Win

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped nearer to his first world title with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

Norris currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

Norris will claim the title in the Qatar as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the opening stages of the season, has not finished on the top three for six races

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

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

After Qatar, the final race of the championship follows in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

The main developments of one of Formula 1's most prestigious races included:

• Lando Norris maintained his progress towards the title despite the win to Verstappen

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

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

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for 10th following beginning at the back

At the start, Lando Norris was true to his statement that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he fought hard to protect his lead from starting first from Verstappen

However after an forceful move in front of Verstappen to block the Verstappen's attack on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

This enabled Max Verstappen to overtake into the first place while Norris also second place to Russell

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

Russell made an early pit stop for the hard tyres, but Norris and Max Verstappen stayed out

Norris stopped five laps after the Mercedes and Max Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was could rejoin still in the first place, Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull despite his newer rubber

Lando Norris returned behind George Russell from his stop but after a few cautious laps to let his tires to settle, soon reduced his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes and overtook into second place on lap 34

Norris asked his engineer how to run the rest of his event, effectively questioning whether he should accept second place or attack

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was readily could repel Norris' challenges, and in the closing stages the margin increased substantially as the McLaren started to suffer a technical issue which has thus far remained unidentified

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

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - just one behind both McLaren teammates - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in championship contention, at least theoretically, even if he requires problems for Norris in the final two events to pass him

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

"During the coming events we will try to take victory in the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Oscar Piastri started fifth but lost two positions on the opening lap following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of the battle by a broken front wing

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

The Australian ended up after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the whole event on hard tyres following pitting during the initial VSC, but was given a five second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It was a disappointing event from pretty much beginning to end in some ways," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Asked about how he would approach the remaining events, he commented: "Just try to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously need quite a lot of things to go my way at this stage to win, but all I can do is make myself in the best position to capitalise if circumstances change"

Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh at the finish, his Williams lacking the pace to compete with the top teams in the dry conditions, after his impressive showing to qualify in third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time title winner made a strong getaway, up to thirteenth on the first lap and continued to move forwards

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a group of other cars but was could employ his strong beginning to salvage a point following the worst qualifying performance of his career