Lando Norris Edges Nearer to Title as Max Verstappen Takes Vegas F1 Race Victory

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

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

The Briton will win the championship in the desert as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen

The Australian driver, so impressive in the opening stages of the championship, has failed to finish on the podium for six consecutive events

"Verstappen had a strong performance. I erred at the beginning and was too punchy on that opening corner," said Norris

"It's still a positive outcome to get second. 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 prestigious races included:

• Norris continued his progress towards the championship despite the victory to Verstappen

• Piastri's challenging run of form continued as his title hopes wane

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

• Recoveries for both Ferrari drivers, after a tough qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton securing a single point for tenth place following beginning 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 starting first from Max Verstappen

But after an forceful move in front of Verstappen to head off the Dutchman's attack on the inside, the McLaren driver misjudged his braking zone and went too deep into the corner

That enabled Max Verstappen to overtake into the first place while the British driver lost second place to Russell

Through two VSC periods for some early incidents, featuring at the beginning when Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Verstappen gradually stamped his authority on the race

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

The McLaren driver pitted five laps following the Mercedes and Max Verstappen 10

Verstappen was able to return still in the lead, Russell having been unable to catch up on the Red Bull even with his fresher tyres

Norris returned after Russell from his stop but after a few cautious laps to allow his tires to settle, soon closed his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes driver and overtook into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver inquired his engineer how to run the rest of his event, effectively questioning whether he should accept second or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "chase down Max" but it soon became clear he had little opportunity. Max Verstappen was easily able to repel Lando's challenges, and in the closing stages the gap extended significantly as the McLaren began to suffer a mechanical problem which has thus far not been defined

Even with dropping nearly three seconds a lap, Lando Norris was able to hold off George Russell because of the size of the advantage he had built while chasing Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the championship - only one less than both McLaren teammates - was taken in dominant fashion and maintains him in title contention, at least theoretically, although he requires problems for Lando Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It remains a significant margin, we consistently attempt to optimize everything we've got," Max 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 finish, but I'm very proud of the entire team"

Piastri began in fifth but lost two places on the first circuit after being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly taken out of contention by a damaged front wing

He trailed Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Strip but also position to Charles Leclerc, who he was could overtake again during the tire change phase

The Australian ended up after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran nearly the entire race on the durable compound following pitting during the first virtual safety car, but was awarded a five-second time penalty for a starting procedure infringement, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It proved to be a frustrating race from essentially start to finish in certain respects," Oscar Piastri told race broadcasters

Asked about how he would approach the final two races, he commented: "Simply attempt to position myself in the optimal situation I can. I obviously need several of things to favor me at this stage to take the title, but my only option is make myself in the best position to take advantage if circumstances change"

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

Hadjar secured eighth ahead of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time champion made a strong getaway, rising to 13th on the opening circuit and continued to advance positions

He became trapped in a DRS train with a group of other cars but was able to employ his strong beginning to salvage a point after the poorest qualifying session of his career