Lando Norris Edges Nearer to Title as Max Verstappen Takes Vegas Grand Prix Victory

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

Norris currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended up fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by 30 points going into the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

Norris will win the championship in the Qatar as long as he doesn't surrender more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the opening stages of the championship, has failed to finish on the top three for six races

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

"It remains a positive outcome to get second. I've got to praise Max and his team"

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

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

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

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

• A superb victory for Max Verstappen to maintain him in the championship battle

• Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a point for tenth place following beginning at the back

At the start, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not present to avoid risks" as he fought hard to defend his advantage from pole position from Verstappen

However following an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to block the Verstappen's challenge on the inner line, Norris misjudged his braking point and went too deep into the corner

This allowed Max Verstappen to drive past into the first place while Norris lost the runner-up spot to Russell

Through two VSC periods for some early incidents, including at the beginning when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the event

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

The McLaren driver pitted five laps after the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

The Red Bull driver was able to 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 after George Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to allow his tyres to warm up, soon reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes and overtook into second place on the thirty-fourth lap

Norris inquired his engineer how to manage the remainder of his race, essentially asking whether he should accept second or attack

He was instructed to "go and get Max" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was readily could repel Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the gap increased substantially as the McLaren car began to suffer a technical issue which has thus far not been defined

Despite dropping nearly three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was could hold off George 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 title contention, at least mathematically, although he requires issues for Norris in both remaining races to pass him

"It's still a big gap, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've got," Max Verstappen stated

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

Piastri started in fifth but lost two places on the first circuit after being clouted by Lawson, who was soon taken out of contention by a damaged nose section

He followed Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the first 15 laps before passing him on the Strip but lost position to Leclerc, who he was able to repass during the pit-stop period

Piastri ended up after the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the whole event on hard tyres following pitting during the initial VSC, 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 race from pretty much start to finish in some ways," Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned 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 several of things to go my way at this stage to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if circumstances change"

Leclerc held on in sixth place, not close enough to benefit from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh place at the finish, his Williams car lacking the speed to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry conditions, after his impressive performance to qualify in third in the wet

Hadjar secured eighth place before the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time champion executed a flying start, rising to thirteenth on the opening circuit and proceeded to move forwards

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of additional vehicles but was could employ his electric start to salvage a point after the worst qualifying session of his career