Lando Norris Edges Closer to Title as Verstappen Secures Vegas F1 Race Win

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

The British driver currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will secure the championship in the Qatar as long as he does not lose over five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so strong in the first half of the championship, has not finished on the podium for six consecutive events

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

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

Following Qatar, the final race of the championship takes place in Abu Dhabi on December 7th

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

• Lando Norris maintained his progress towards the title losing the victory to Max Verstappen

• Piastri's difficult performance streak persisted as his title hopes wane

• A excellent victory for Verstappen to maintain him in the title fight

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a point for 10th after starting at the rear

At the start, Norris was true to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he fought hard to protect his lead from pole position from Verstappen

However after an forceful cut in front of Verstappen to head off the Dutchman's attack on the inside, Norris miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the corner

This enabled Verstappen to overtake into the first place while Norris also the runner-up spot to George Russell

Through two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, including at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event

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

Norris pitted five laps after the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

Verstappen was could rejoin still in the first place, George Russell having been unable to close in on the Red Bull car despite his newer rubber

Lando Norris rejoined behind Russell from his pit stop but following a several careful circuits to let his tyres to settle, quickly reduced his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into runner-up position on lap 34

The British driver asked his engineer how to run the remainder of his race, essentially questioning whether he should settle for second place or attack

He was told to "chase down Max" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Verstappen was readily able to repel Norris' challenges, and in the closing stages the margin increased substantially as the McLaren car began to experience a mechanical problem which has so far remained unidentified

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

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the season - only one behind both McLaren teammates - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in championship contention, at minimum theoretically, even if he needs problems for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It's still a big gap, we always try to maximise all we've got," Verstappen said

"During the coming events we will try to win the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm very proud of everyone"

Oscar Piastri began in fifth but dropped two positions on the opening lap following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly taken out of contention by a damaged nose section

He followed Lawson's teammate 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 pit-stop period

Piastri ended up after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the whole event on the durable compound after pitting during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not immediately obvious on replays

"It proved to be a disappointing race from essentially beginning to end in certain respects," Piastri informed race broadcasters

Questioned about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Simply try to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly need several of things to favor me now to win, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Sainz fell to seventh place at the finish, his Williams missing the speed to compete with the top teams in the dry, after his heroic showing to start third in the wet weather

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

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

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was could use his electric start to rescue a championship point following the worst qualifying session of his racing life