Lando Norris Edges Nearer to Championship as Max Verstappen Claims Las Vegas Grand Prix Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris stepped closer to his first championship with runner-up position in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Norris currently heads fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar next weekend

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

The Australian driver, so strong in the first half of the championship, has failed to finish on the podium for six races

"Max had a good race. I erred at the beginning and was too punchy on that first turn," said Norris

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

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

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

• Lando Norris continued his progress towards the title losing 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, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for tenth place following beginning at the back

From the beginning, Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his lead from pole position from Verstappen

But after an forceful cut in front of Verstappen to head off the Dutchman's challenge on the inside, Norris miscalculated his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

This enabled Max Verstappen to overtake into the lead while the British driver also second place to Russell

Through two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, featuring at the start when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson made contact with Piastri, Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the race

George Russell undertook an early tire change for the more durable compound, but Norris and Max Verstappen stayed out

Norris pitted five circuits following the Mercedes driver and Verstappen 10

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

Norris rejoined behind Russell from his stop but following a few cautious laps to allow his tires to warm up, quickly closed his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes driver and swept by into second place on lap 34

Norris asked his race engineer how to manage the remainder of his race, essentially asking whether he should accept second place or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "go and get Verstappen" but it soon became clear he had no chance. Verstappen was readily could repel Lando's challenges, and in the final laps the margin extended substantially as the McLaren started to suffer a technical issue which has so far not been defined

Despite losing nearly three seconds a lap, Norris was could hold off Russell because of the extent of the advantage he had built while pursuing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the championship - just one less than the two McLaren teammates - was achieved in dominant fashion and keeps him in title contention, at minimum theoretically, even if he needs problems for Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It's still a significant margin, we consistently attempt to maximise all we've have," Max Verstappen said

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

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

He followed Liam Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but also out to Leclerc, who he was could repass during the tire change phase

Piastri ended up behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the entire race on hard tyres following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded 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 essentially beginning to end in some ways," Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live

Questioned about how he would tackle the remaining events, he said: "Just attempt to put myself in the best position I can. I obviously need several of things to go my way now to win, but my only option is ensure I'm in the best position to take advantage if something happens"

Charles Leclerc held on in sixth position, not close enough to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams car missing the pace to compete with the top teams in the dry, following his impressive showing to start third in the wet weather

Hadjar secured eighth 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 proceeded to move forwards

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a group of additional vehicles but was could use his strong beginning to salvage a point after the poorest qualifying performance of his career