Norris Edges Closer to Championship as Verstappen Claims Las Vegas Grand Prix Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris moved nearer to a maiden championship with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

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

Norris will claim the championship in the Qatar as long as he doesn't surrender more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the opening stages of the championship, has not finished on the podium for six races

"Verstappen had a strong performance. I made the mistake at the beginning and was overly aggressive on that first turn," stated Norris

"It's still 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 high-profile races were:

• Lando Norris maintained his momentum towards the championship despite the win to Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's difficult run of form continued as his championship chances wane

• A excellent win for Verstappen to keep him in the championship battle

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

At the start, Lando Norris was true to his statement that he was "not here not to take risks" as he fought hard to defend his advantage from pole position from Verstappen

But following an forceful move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Verstappen's attack on the inner line, Norris misjudged his braking point and ran deep into the turn

That enabled Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while the British driver also second place to Russell

During two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, featuring at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Verstappen slowly established dominance on the race

George Russell undertook an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Norris and Max Verstappen stayed out

The McLaren driver pitted five circuits after the Mercedes driver and Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was could rejoin still in the first place, George Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull even with his fresher tyres

Lando Norris rejoined behind George Russell from his pit stop but following a several careful circuits to let his tyres to settle, quickly reduced his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes and overtook into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

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

He was told to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was readily able to repel Lando's attacks, and in the final laps the gap increased significantly as the McLaren started to suffer a technical issue which has thus far not been defined

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

The Verstappen's sixth win of the championship - only one behind the two McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in title contention, at minimum mathematically, even if he needs issues for Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It's still a significant margin, we consistently attempt to optimize all we've got," Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to win the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Oscar Piastri started fifth but dropped two positions on the first circuit after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was soon taken out of contention by a damaged nose section

He followed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the Strip but also out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could repass during the pit-stop period

Piastri ended up behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the entire race on the durable compound after pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five-second time penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It was a frustrating race from pretty much beginning to end in some ways," Oscar Piastri informed race broadcasters

Asked about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Just attempt to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously need several of things to go my way at this stage to win, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to take advantage if circumstances change"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth position, insufficiently close to benefit from Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the flag, his Williams missing the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, following his heroic performance to start in third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time champion executed a strong getaway, rising to thirteenth on the opening circuit 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 poorest qualifying performance of his career