Lando Norris Edges Closer to Championship as Max Verstappen Takes Las Vegas F1 Race Victory

McLaren's Lando Norris moved nearer to his first championship with second place in the Vegas race 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 claim the title in the Qatar as long as he does not lose more than five points to Piastri in Losail, or seventeen to Verstappen

Piastri, so strong in the opening stages of the season, has not finished on the podium for six races

"Verstappen had a strong performance. I made the mistake early on and was overly aggressive on that opening corner," stated Norris

"It's still a positive outcome to get second. I've got to congratulate Verstappen and Red Bull"

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

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

• Norris maintained his momentum towards the championship losing the victory to Verstappen

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

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

• Fightbacks for both 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 true to his claim that he was "not here not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to protect his advantage from starting first from Max Verstappen

But following an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Verstappen's challenge on the inside, Norris miscalculated his braking zone and ran deep into the turn

This allowed Verstappen to overtake into the first place while the British driver lost second place to George Russell

During two VSC periods for some early incidents, including at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson collided with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen gradually established dominance on the race

Russell undertook an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Verstappen stayed out

Norris pitted five circuits following the Mercedes driver and Verstappen ten laps later

Verstappen was could rejoin still in the lead, Russell having been failed to catch up on the Red Bull car despite his newer rubber

Norris returned after Russell from his stop but following a several careful circuits to let his tyres to warm up, quickly reduced his three-point-three second deficit to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap

The British driver asked his race engineer how to manage the rest of his event, essentially asking whether he should settle for second place or challenge for the lead

He was instructed to "go and get Max" but it quickly became apparent he had little opportunity. Verstappen was easily able to defend against Norris' attacks, and in the final laps the margin extended significantly as the McLaren car began to experience a technical issue which has thus far remained unidentified

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

The Red Bull driver's sixth win of the season - just one behind the two McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and keeps him in championship contention, at least mathematically, although he needs issues for Lando Norris in both remaining races to pass him

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

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

Piastri started in fifth but lost two positions on the opening lap following being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was soon eliminated of the battle by a broken front wing

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

Piastri finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who ran almost the entire race on the durable compound following pitting during the initial VSC, but was awarded a five-second penalty for a starting procedure violation, which was not immediately obvious on video reviews

"It was a disappointing 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 best position 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 capitalise if circumstances change"

Leclerc hung on in sixth place, not close enough to benefit from Antonelli's time penalty, while Sainz dropped to seventh at the finish, his Williams lacking the speed to challenge with the top teams in the dry conditions, following his heroic performance to start third in the wet

Isack Hadjar secured eighth place ahead of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton

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

He got stuck in a DRS train with a group of other cars but was able to employ his electric start to rescue a championship point following the worst qualifying performance of his career