Norris Moves Nearer to Title as Verstappen Secures Vegas F1 Race Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris moved closer to a maiden world title with runner-up position in the Vegas race behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

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

Norris will secure the championship in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so strong in the opening stages of the championship, has not finished on the top three for six races

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

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

Following Qatar, the final race of the championship takes place in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

The key stories of among Formula 1's most prestigious races were:

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

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

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

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a point for 10th after starting 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 defend his advantage from starting first from Max Verstappen

However after an aggressive move in front of Verstappen to block the Verstappen's challenge on the inside, Norris miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

That enabled Verstappen to drive past into the first place while the British driver lost the runner-up spot to Russell

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

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

The McLaren driver pitted five circuits following the Mercedes and Max Verstappen ten laps later

The Red Bull driver was could return still in the first place, George Russell having been unable to close in on the Red Bull despite his fresher tyres

Norris returned after George Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tires to warm up, soon reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver inquired his race engineer how to manage the rest of his race, essentially asking whether he should accept second place or challenge for the lead

He was told to "chase down Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was readily able to repel Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the margin increased significantly as the McLaren car began to experience a mechanical problem which has thus far not been defined

Even with losing almost three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was could hold off Russell because of the extent of the lead he had built while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the season - just one behind the two McLaren teammates - was taken in dominant fashion and maintains him in championship contention, at minimum theoretically, even if he requires issues for Lando Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've have," Max Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will try to take victory in the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we finish, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Piastri started in fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit after being hit by Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of the battle by a damaged front wing

He followed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but lost out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the pit-stop period

Piastri finished behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the whole event on the durable compound after pitting during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not clearly visible on replays

"It proved to be a disappointing race from pretty much beginning to end in some ways," Oscar Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Just attempt to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I clearly require several of factors to favor me now to win, but my only option is make myself in the ideal situation to capitalise if something happens"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh at the flag, his Williams car lacking the speed to compete with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, after his impressive performance to start in third in the wet

Isack Hadjar took eighth before the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time champion executed a flying start, up to thirteenth on the first lap and continued to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was could employ his electric start to salvage a point following the poorest qualifying session of his racing life