Norris Edges Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Claims Vegas Grand Prix Win

McLaren's Lando Norris moved nearer to a maiden world title with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

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

The Briton will claim the championship in the Qatar as long as he doesn't surrender over five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so impressive in the first half of the championship, has failed to finish on the top three for six races

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

"It's still a positive outcome to secure second place. I've got to congratulate Max and Red Bull"

Following Qatar, the last event of the season takes place in Abu Dhabi on 7 December

The main developments of one of Formula 1's most high-profile races included:

• Norris maintained his momentum towards the championship losing the victory to Max Verstappen

• Piastri's challenging performance streak persisted as his championship chances wane

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

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

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

However following an forceful move in front of Verstappen to block the Dutchman's attack on the inner line, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking zone and went too deep into the corner

This allowed Max Verstappen to overtake into the first place while the British driver also second place to George Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, including at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually established dominance on the event

George Russell made an early tire change for the more durable compound, but Norris and Verstappen stayed out

The McLaren driver stopped five laps following the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was could return still in the lead, George Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull car despite his fresher tyres

Lando Norris rejoined behind Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to allow his tires to warm up, quickly reduced his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

Norris asked his race engineer how to run 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. Verstappen was readily could repel Norris' 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

Despite losing nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was could hold off 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 drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at minimum mathematically, although he requires problems for Lando Norris in both remaining races to overtake him

"It's still a significant margin, we consistently attempt to maximise everything we've have," Max Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will try to win the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

Oscar Piastri began in fifth but dropped two positions on the opening lap after being hit by Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a broken nose section

He trailed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before passing him on the Las Vegas Strip but also out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could repass during the tire change phase

Piastri finished behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed almost the entire race on hard tyres following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It was a disappointing race from pretty much start to finish in some ways," Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would approach the final two races, he said: "Just attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously require quite a lot 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 capitalise if something happens"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the flag, his Williams car missing the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, after his heroic performance to qualify third in the wet

Isack Hadjar secured eighth place ahead of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, rising to 13th on the opening circuit and proceeded to advance positions

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