Norris Advances Closer to Championship as Verstappen Secures Vegas F1 Race Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris moved closer to his first world title with second place in the Vegas race behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen

The British driver now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

The Briton will secure the title 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 impressive in the opening stages of the championship, has failed to finish on the top three for six consecutive events

"Verstappen had a good race. I made the mistake at the beginning and was overly aggressive on that first turn," said Norris

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

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

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

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

• Oscar Piastri's challenging run of form persisted as his championship chances wane

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

• Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for 10th following beginning at the back

At the start, Norris was true to his claim that he was "not here not to take risks" as he fought hard to protect his lead from starting first from Max Verstappen

But following an aggressive cut in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Verstappen's attack on the inner line, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the turn

That allowed Verstappen to overtake into the first place while the British driver lost second place to George Russell

During two VSC periods for some early incidents, including at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event

George Russell undertook an early tire change for the more durable compound, but Lando Norris and Verstappen remained on track

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

Verstappen was able to return still in the lead, George Russell having been unable to close in on the Red Bull car despite his fresher tyres

Lando Norris returned behind George Russell from his 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 and swept by into second place on lap 34

Norris asked his engineer how to manage the rest of his event, essentially asking whether he should accept second place or challenge for the lead

He was told to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was easily able to defend against Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the margin increased substantially as the McLaren car began to experience a technical issue which has so far remained unidentified

Despite dropping almost three seconds a lap, Norris was could defend against Russell because of the extent of the lead he had built while pursuing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the season - just one behind the two McLaren drivers - was taken in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, even if he needs problems for Lando Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It's still a significant margin, we always try to maximise everything we've have," Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will attempt to win the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm very proud of everyone"

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

He followed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but lost out to Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the tire change phase

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

"It was a frustrating event from essentially start to finish in some ways," Oscar Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Just try to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously require several of things to favor me at this stage to take the title, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams car lacking the speed to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, after his impressive showing to qualify third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time champion executed a flying start, up to thirteenth on the opening circuit and continued to move forwards

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was able to employ his electric start to rescue a championship point following the worst qualifying performance of his career