Lando Norris Edges Nearer to Title as Max Verstappen Takes Vegas Grand Prix Victory

The McLaren Lando Norris stepped nearer to a maiden world title with runner-up position in the Vegas race behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points going into the penultimate race in Qatar next weekend

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

Piastri, so impressive in the opening stages of the season, has failed to finish on the top three for six races

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

"It remains a good result to secure second. I've got to congratulate Max and his team"

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

The main developments of among Formula 1's most high-profile races were:

• Lando Norris maintained his progress towards the championship losing the victory to Verstappen

• Piastri's difficult performance streak persisted as his title hopes wane

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

• Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton securing a single point for tenth place following beginning at the back

From the beginning, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not present not to take risks" as he fought hard to protect his advantage from starting first from Max Verstappen

However following an aggressive cut in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Verstappen's challenge on the inside, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking point and went too deep into the corner

That allowed Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while Norris lost the runner-up spot to Russell

During two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, including at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly established dominance on the race

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

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

Verstappen was able to return still in the first place, George Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull car even with his fresher tyres

Norris returned after Russell from his pit stop but following a several careful circuits to allow his tires to warm up, quickly closed his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes driver and overtook into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver inquired his engineer how to manage the rest of his race, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second or attack

He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was easily could defend against Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the gap increased significantly as the McLaren car started to experience a technical issue which has thus far remained unidentified

Even with dropping almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was able to hold off George Russell because of the extent of the lead he had built while chasing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth win of the season - just one less than both McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and keeps him in title contention, at minimum mathematically, although he requires problems for Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It remains a big gap, we consistently attempt to maximise everything we've got," Max Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will try to win the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of the entire team"

Piastri began in fifth but dropped two places on the opening lap following being clouted by Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of the battle by a damaged nose section

He trailed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Strip but also out to Charles Leclerc, who he was able to repass during the pit-stop period

Piastri finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on hard tyres after stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a start-line violation, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It was a frustrating race from essentially start to finish in certain respects," Piastri informed race broadcasters

Asked about how he would approach the remaining events, he said: "Just attempt to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly need several of factors to go my way at this stage to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to capitalise if something happens"

Leclerc hung on in sixth place, insufficiently close to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams missing the speed to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, following his impressive performance to qualify in third in the wet

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

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, rising to thirteenth on the first lap and continued to advance positions

He got stuck in a DRS train with a group of other cars but was could employ his strong beginning to rescue a point after the poorest qualifying performance of his racing life