Norris Moves Closer to Title as Verstappen Takes Vegas Grand Prix Win

McLaren's Lando Norris moved closer to a maiden championship with runner-up position in the Vegas race following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen

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

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

Piastri, so impressive in the first half of the championship, has not finished on the top three for six consecutive events

"Verstappen had a strong performance. I erred early on and was overly aggressive on that opening corner," said Norris

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

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

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

• Lando Norris continued his progress towards the championship despite the win to Max Verstappen

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

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

• Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for tenth place after starting at the rear

From the beginning, Norris was true to his claim that he was "not here not to take risks" as he fought hard to protect his advantage from pole position from Verstappen

However after an forceful cut in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Verstappen's attack on the inner line, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking point and went too deep into the corner

This enabled Verstappen to overtake into the first place while the British driver lost the runner-up spot to Russell

During two virtual safety cars for several opening-lap incidents, including at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Verstappen slowly established dominance on the race

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

Norris stopped five laps following the Mercedes and Max Verstappen 10

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

Lando Norris returned after George Russell from his stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tires to warm up, soon closed his three-point-three second gap to the Mercedes driver and overtook into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris inquired his engineer how to run the rest of his race, essentially asking whether he should accept second place or challenge for the lead

He was told to "chase down Max" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Verstappen was easily could defend against Lando's challenges, 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 dropping almost three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was could hold off Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while chasing Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the season - only one behind the two McLaren drivers - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in title contention, at least mathematically, although he needs issues for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

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

"During the coming events we will attempt to take victory in the event and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will know where we end up, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Piastri started in fifth but dropped two positions on the opening lap following being hit by Lawson, who was quickly eliminated of contention by a broken nose section

He followed Lawson's teammate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Strip but also position to Leclerc, who he was could repass during the tire change phase

Piastri ended up after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the entire race on the durable compound following stopping during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five second penalty for a start-line infringement, which was not clearly visible on replays

"It was a frustrating race from pretty much beginning to end in certain respects," Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would approach the remaining events, he said: "Just attempt to position myself in the best position I can. I clearly require several of factors to favor me at this stage to win, but all I can do is make myself 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 time penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams car lacking the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, after his heroic showing to start in third in the wet weather

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

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, rising to thirteenth on the first lap and continued to move forwards

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a bunch of additional vehicles but was able to employ his electric start to salvage a point following the poorest qualifying session of his career