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

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

Norris currently heads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth behind Mercedes' George Russell, by 30 points heading to the second-to-last race in Qatar this coming weekend

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

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

"Max had a strong performance. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that opening corner," stated Norris

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

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

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

• Norris maintained his momentum towards the title despite the victory to Max Verstappen

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

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

• Fightbacks for the two Ferrari drivers, after a difficult qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton securing a single point for 10th following starting at the back

At the start, Lando Norris was faithful to his statement that he was "not here to avoid risks" as he battled aggressively to defend his lead from starting first from Verstappen

However following an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to head off the Verstappen's attack on the inside, Norris miscalculated his braking zone and went too deep into the turn

This allowed Verstappen to drive past into the lead while the British driver lost the runner-up spot to George Russell

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

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

Norris stopped five laps following the Mercedes and Verstappen 10

Verstappen was able to return still in the first place, George Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull car even with his fresher tyres

Norris returned after George Russell from his pit stop but after a several careful circuits to let his tyres to warm up, soon closed his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes and swept by into second place on lap 34

The British driver inquired his race engineer how to manage the rest of his race, essentially questioning whether he should settle for second or challenge for the lead

He was told to "go and get Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Verstappen was readily could repel Lando's attacks, and in the final laps the gap increased significantly as the McLaren began to suffer a mechanical problem which has so far not been defined

Despite losing almost three seconds a circuit, Norris was could defend against George Russell because of the size of the lead he had established while chasing Max Verstappen

The Verstappen's sixth victory of the championship - only one less than both McLaren drivers - was achieved in dominant fashion and maintains him in title contention, at least mathematically, even if he needs problems for Norris in the final two events to pass him

"It remains a significant margin, we always try to optimize everything we've got," Verstappen said

"In upcoming weekends we will attempt to take victory in 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 started in fifth but lost two positions on the first circuit following being hit by Liam Lawson, who was quickly taken out of the battle by a damaged nose section

He followed Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar for the opening fifteen circuits before overtaking him on the Las Vegas Strip but lost out to Charles Leclerc, who he was could repass during the pit-stop period

The Australian ended up after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on the durable compound following pitting during the initial VSC, but was given a five second penalty for a start-line violation, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It was a frustrating event from pretty much beginning to end in certain respects," Piastri told race broadcasters

Asked about how he would approach the remaining events, he commented: "Just attempt to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously need several of factors to favor me at this stage to win, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to capitalise if something happens"

Leclerc held on in sixth position, insufficiently close to benefit from Antonelli's penalty, while Carlos Sainz fell to seventh at the finish, his Williams missing the pace to challenge with the leading outfits in the dry, after his impressive showing to start third in the wet weather

Hadjar took eighth before the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

The seven-time title winner executed a strong getaway, rising to 13th on the first lap and continued to move forwards

He got stuck in a slipstream group with a group of other cars but was able to employ his strong beginning to rescue a championship point following the worst qualifying session of his career