Pole-sitter Norris lost out to Verstappen and George Russell in a dramatic start but increases his advantage in the Drivers’ Championship to 30 points over Oscar Piastri, who was fourth, and 42 points to Verstappen.
It means Norris will become world champion if he leaves next Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix with a lead of 26 points, so would wrap up the title with a round to spare ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
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Norris was outfoxed by Verstappen on the short run down to Turn One as he darted to the inside to cover the Red Bull driver but went too deep and gave up first place.
Russell also capitalised by going around the outside at Turn Two, so Norris dropped to third but later cruised past Russell in the second half of the race to take back second, then also overcame a late fuel issue.
“I made the mistake into Turn One. You’ve got to be punchy into Turn One, I was just a bit too punchy,” said Norris, who could become Britain’s 11th F1 world champion.
“That cost me, so that’s the way it is sometimes. Still a good result, second, and still good points so it’s not like I’m too disappointed.”
Kimi Antonelli crossed the line in fourth but a five-second time penalty for jumping the start dropped him to fifth behind Piastri, who was outscored by Norris for a seventh consecutive race.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton made up ground early on to finish sixth and 10th with Williams’ Carlos Sainz in seventh, ahead of Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg.
Hamilton started on the hards and gained seven spots on the opening lap after taking advantage of Gabriel Bortoleto hitting Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly at the first turn, with Liam Lawson also making contact with Piastri which punctured the Racing Bulls driver’s tyres.
Verstappen dominates after dramatic start
After making it a hat-trick of pole positions on Saturday, Norris insisted he would still take risks in the Grand Prix and stuck to his word by aggressively fending off Verstappen, only to outbrake himself in a move which may have dictated the result.
The pair came close to contact with each other and the wall but Verstappen smartly let Norris go before speeding past at the exit of Turn One, as Norris lifted which allowed Russell to dance around the outside.
Russell pushed Verstappen hard early on, keeping within DRS range but was unable to mount a serious attack. The Mercedes driver’s medium tyres then started to grain up and he also dealt with a steering issue which hampered him in Q3, so Verstappen was able to build a three-second buffer ahead of the only round of pit stops.
Russell was the first of the leaders to pit on Lap 18 and Verstappen boxed on Lap 26, still coming out in the lead one second ahead of Russell then cruised away to a sixth win of the season.
“Normally the race is a tough one for us. We are normally not that great on tyres, but today it seemed like we had it a bit more under control and I could push a little bit more,” said Verstappen.
“That unlocked a little more pace and I could stay out a little bit longer and split the race in half. That helped a lot. The car was working well and much more to my liking. In the end it was quite a decent gap.”
Similarly to the opening stint, Russell tried to keep up with Verstappen but damaged his tyres which left him susceptible to Norris, who easily overtook his compatriot on the Las Vegas Strip on Lap 34.
Norris was told to “go and get Max” at four seconds up the road but did not have the pace of the Dutchman. He later suffered an issue with three laps to go which required heavy fuel saving, but had enough of an advantage to finish three seconds ahead of Russell but 20 seconds behind Verstappen.
“It was not my best performance out there but when the guy wins by 20 seconds it’s because he has just done a better job and they’re a bit quicker,” said Norris.
“Fun race out there, difficult as always, but good fun.”
F1’s season-ending triple header continues with the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
