Norris Moves Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Claims Vegas Grand Prix Victory

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

The British driver currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place behind 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

The Australian driver, so strong in the first half of the season, has failed to finish on the podium for six races

"Max had a strong performance. I erred early on and was overly aggressive on that opening corner," stated Norris

"It remains a positive outcome to get second. I've got to praise Verstappen and his team"

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

The key stories of among Formula 1's most high-profile races included:

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

• Oscar Piastri's challenging performance streak continued as his championship chances diminish

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

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a single point for tenth place after starting at the back

At the start, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he fought hard to defend his lead from starting first from Max Verstappen

However after an forceful move in front of Verstappen to head off the Verstappen's attack on the inner line, Norris misjudged his braking point and ran deep into the turn

This allowed Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while the British driver lost second place to Russell

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

George Russell undertook an early pit stop for the hard tyres, but Norris and Max Verstappen remained on track

The McLaren driver stopped five circuits after the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen ten laps later

Verstappen was could return still in the lead, Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull car despite his newer rubber

Lando Norris returned after Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to let his tires to warm up, quickly reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris inquired his engineer how to manage the remainder of his event, effectively questioning whether he should settle for second or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "chase down Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily could defend against Lando's challenges, and in the closing stages the margin extended significantly as the McLaren car began to experience a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was could hold off Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the championship - only one less than both McLaren drivers - was achieved in dominant fashion and maintains him in championship contention, at least theoretically, although he requires issues for Lando Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've got," Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to win the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Piastri began fifth but lost two places on the first circuit following being hit by Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a broken front wing

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

The Australian ended up behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the whole event on hard tyres after stopping during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five-second time penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It was a frustrating event from pretty much beginning to end in certain respects," Piastri informed race broadcasters

Asked about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Just try to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously need several of things to favor me at this stage to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if circumstances change"

Leclerc hung on in sixth position, insufficiently close to benefit from Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh place at the finish, his Williams missing the speed to challenge with the top teams in the dry, following his heroic performance to start third in the wet

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

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

He became trapped in a slipstream group with a bunch of other cars but was able to use his electric start to salvage a point following the poorest qualifying performance of his racing life