Lando Norris Moves Closer to Title as Verstappen Claims Vegas F1 Race Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris moved closer to his first championship with second place in the Vegas race following Red Bull's Max Verstappen

The British driver currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

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

Piastri, so impressive in the first half of the championship, has not finished on the podium for six races

"Max had a strong performance. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that first turn," said Norris

"It remains a positive outcome to secure second place. I've got to praise Max and Red Bull"

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

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

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

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

• A excellent win for Verstappen to keep him in the title fight

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

From the beginning, Norris was faithful to his claim that he was "not present not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his lead from pole position from Verstappen

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

This allowed Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while Norris lost second place to George Russell

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

Russell undertook an early pit stop for the more durable compound, but Norris and Verstappen stayed out

Norris pitted five laps following the Mercedes driver and Verstappen ten laps later

Verstappen was could rejoin still in the first place, George Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull car despite his fresher tyres

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

Norris asked his engineer how to manage the remainder of his event, effectively asking whether he should settle for second or attack

He was instructed to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Max Verstappen was readily could defend against Lando's attacks, and in the closing stages the gap increased substantially as the McLaren car began to experience a technical issue which has thus far remained unidentified

Even with losing nearly three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was able to defend against George Russell because of the size of the advantage he had established while chasing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - just one less than the two McLaren teammates - was achieved in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at least mathematically, even if he requires issues for Lando Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It's still a big gap, we consistently attempt to optimize everything we've have," 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 end up, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Piastri began fifth but dropped two places on the opening lap after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of contention by a damaged nose section

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

The Australian ended up behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on the durable compound following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second time penalty for a start-line violation, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It proved to be a disappointing event from pretty much start to finish in some ways," Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Simply attempt to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously require several of things to go my way now to win, but all I can do is make myself in the ideal situation to capitalise if circumstances change"

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

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

The seven-time champion executed a strong getaway, rising to 13th on the opening circuit and continued to move forwards

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a group of additional vehicles but was could employ his strong beginning to salvage a point after the worst qualifying session of his racing life