The McLaren driver now leads a thirty point advantage over fellow driver Oscar Piastri with only fifty-eight points up for grabs in the final two races
The McLaren Lando Norris stepped closer to a maiden world title with second place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix following the Red Bull of Max Verstappen
Norris now leads teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished in fourth place after the Mercedes of George Russell, by thirty points going into the penultimate race in Qatar this coming weekend
Norris will secure the championship in the desert as long as he doesn't surrender over five points to Piastri in Losail, or 17 to Verstappen
Piastri, so strong in the opening stages of the championship, has not finished on the top three for six races
"Verstappen had a strong performance. I made the mistake early on and was too punchy on that first turn," said Norris
"It's still a positive outcome to secure second. I've got to congratulate Verstappen and his team"
After Qatar, the final race of the season follows in Abu Dhabi on December 7th
The key stories of among Formula 1's most high-profile races were:
Lando Norris maintained his progress towards the championship losing the win to Max Verstappen
Oscar Piastri's challenging run of form continued as his title hopes diminish
A superb win for Verstappen to maintain him in the championship battle
Recoveries for the two Ferrari drivers, following a tough qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton claiming a point for tenth place after beginning at the rear
Verstappen Stays in Championship Battle
Verstappen passes Norris at the beginning after the British driver went off line at the opening turn
From the beginning, Lando Norris was true to his statement that he was "not here not to take risks" as he battled aggressively to protect his lead from pole position from Verstappen
However after an aggressive move in front of the Red Bull driver to block the Verstappen's attack on the inner line, the McLaren driver miscalculated his braking point and went too deep into the turn
This allowed Max Verstappen to drive past into the lead while the British driver lost second place to George Russell
Through two VSC periods for several opening-lap incidents, including at the start when the Racing Bulls Liam Lawson made contact with Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen slowly stamped his authority on the event
Russell undertook an early tire change for the hard tyres, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen stayed out
The McLaren driver pitted five laps after the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen 10
The Red Bull driver was able to rejoin still in the first place, George Russell having been failed to close in on the Red Bull despite his newer rubber
Norris returned after Russell from his stop but after a several careful circuits to allow his tires to warm up, soon closed his 3.3-second gap to the Mercedes driver and swept by into runner-up position on the thirty-fourth lap
Norris asked his engineer how to manage the rest of his event, effectively questioning whether he should accept second place or challenge for the lead
He was told to "chase down Verstappen" but it quickly became apparent he had no chance. Max Verstappen was readily able to repel Norris' challenges, and in the closing stages the margin extended substantially as the McLaren began to experience a mechanical problem which has so far not been defined
Even with dropping nearly three seconds a circuit, Lando Norris was able to hold off Russell because of the extent of the lead he had established while chasing Max Verstappen
The Red Bull driver's sixth victory of the season - only one behind both McLaren teammates - was taken in emphatic style and keeps him in title contention, at least mathematically, although he requires problems for Lando Norris in the final two events to pass him
"It remains a significant margin, we always try to maximise everything we've have," Max Verstappen said
"In upcoming weekends we will try to win the event and by the conclusion of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I'm very proud of the entire team"
'Frustrating Event' for Oscar Piastri
Piastri started fifth but dropped two places on the opening lap after being clouted by Liam Lawson, who was quickly eliminated 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 Las Vegas Strip but also position to Leclerc, who he was able to repass during the tire change phase
The Australian finished after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who competed nearly the entire race on the durable compound after 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 was a disappointing race from essentially beginning to end in certain respects," Oscar Piastri told BBC Radio 5 Live
Asked about how he would tackle the final two races, he said: "Simply attempt to position myself in the best position I can. I obviously need quite a lot of things to go my way at this stage to take the title, but all I can do is ensure I'm in the ideal situation to take advantage if something happens"
Charles Leclerc hung on in sixth position, not close enough to gain from Kimi Antonelli's time penalty, while Carlos Sainz dropped to seventh at the flag, his Williams car lacking the speed to challenge with the top teams in the dry conditions, after his impressive performance to start third in the wet weather
Isack Hadjar took eighth before Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton
The seven-time title winner made a strong getaway, up to thirteenth on the first lap and proceeded to move forwards
He became trapped in a slipstream group with a group of additional vehicles but was could employ his electric start to rescue a championship point following the poorest qualifying session of his career
