Lando Norris Advances Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Secures Las Vegas Grand Prix Victory

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

The British driver currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place after the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will claim the title in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender over five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the first half of the season, has not finished on the podium for six consecutive events

"Max had a strong performance. I made the mistake at the beginning and was overly aggressive on that first turn," stated Norris

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

Following Qatar, the last event of the championship follows in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

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

• Norris continued his momentum towards the championship losing the win to Max Verstappen

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

• A excellent victory for Max Verstappen to keep him in the championship battle

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a single point for 10th after beginning at the rear

At the start, Lando Norris was true to his statement that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his advantage from starting first from Max Verstappen

But after an forceful cut in front of Verstappen to block the Verstappen's challenge on the inner line, Norris miscalculated his braking point and ran deep into the turn

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

During two VSC periods for some early incidents, including at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen gradually established dominance on the race

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

Norris stopped five laps following the Mercedes driver and Verstappen 10

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

Norris rejoined behind Russell from his stop but following a few cautious laps to allow his tyres to warm up, soon reduced his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver asked his engineer how to manage the remainder of his event, essentially questioning whether he should accept second or attack

He was instructed to "go and get Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Verstappen was readily able to defend against Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the margin extended substantially as the McLaren began to experience a technical issue which has so far not been defined

Even with losing nearly three seconds a circuit, Norris was could defend against Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the season - just one behind the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and keeps him in title contention, at least mathematically, even if he needs issues for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It's still a big gap, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've have," Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will try to take victory in the race and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Piastri began in fifth but lost two places on the opening lap after being hit by Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a damaged front wing

He trailed Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before overtaking him on the Strip but also out to Leclerc, who he was could repass during the pit-stop period

The Australian finished after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the whole event on the durable compound after pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second penalty for a start-line violation, which was not clearly visible on video reviews

"It was a frustrating event from essentially beginning to end in certain respects," Piastri informed BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would tackle the remaining events, he commented: "Just attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I clearly need several of factors to favor me at this stage to take the title, but my only option is make myself in the ideal situation to take advantage if circumstances change"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams missing the pace to compete with the leading outfits in the dry, after his impressive showing to start in third in the wet weather

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

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

He got stuck in a DRS train with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could use his electric start to salvage a point after the poorest qualifying session of his career