Lando Norris Moves Closer to Title as Max Verstappen Takes Vegas F1 Race Win

The McLaren Lando Norris moved nearer to his first championship with runner-up position in the Vegas race behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

Norris currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up in fourth place after the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

The Briton will claim the title in the Qatar as long as he does not lose over five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

Piastri, so impressive 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 opening corner," said Norris

"It's still a good result to get second. I've got to congratulate Max and Red Bull"

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

The key stories of among Formula 1's most prestigious races included:

• Lando Norris maintained his momentum towards the title losing the win to Max Verstappen

• Oscar Piastri's challenging performance streak continued as his title hopes diminish

• A excellent win for Max Verstappen to maintain him in the championship battle

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

From the beginning, Lando Norris was true to his claim that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his lead from pole position from Verstappen

However after an forceful cut in front of the Red Bull driver to head off the Verstappen's challenge on the inner line, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking point and ran deep into the turn

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

Through two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, including at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Verstappen gradually established dominance on the race

Russell made an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Norris and Verstappen remained on track

The McLaren driver stopped five circuits after the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen 10

Verstappen was could return still in the first place, Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull even with his newer rubber

Norris rejoined after George Russell from his stop but following a few cautious laps to let his tyres to warm up, soon reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into second place on lap 34

Norris asked his engineer how to run the rest of his race, essentially asking whether he should settle for second place or attack

He was told to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was readily could defend against Lando's challenges, and in the closing stages the margin extended significantly as the McLaren started to suffer a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

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

The Verstappen's sixth win of the championship - just one less than both McLaren drivers - was achieved in emphatic style and maintains him in championship contention, at least mathematically, even if he requires issues for Norris in the final two events to overtake him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've have," Max Verstappen stated

"During the coming events we will attempt to take victory in the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm extremely pleased of everyone"

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

He trailed 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 repass during the pit-stop period

Piastri finished after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the entire race on hard tyres following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was given a five-second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It proved to be a frustrating event from pretty much start to finish in some ways," Oscar Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Asked about how he would tackle the final two races, he commented: "Simply attempt to put myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously need quite a lot of things to go my way at this stage to win, but my only option is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to take advantage if circumstances change"

Leclerc hung on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh place at the flag, his Williams missing the pace to challenge with the top teams in the dry, after his impressive showing to qualify in third in the wet weather

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

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

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a bunch of other cars but was able to employ his electric start to rescue a point following the poorest qualifying performance of his racing life