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Amid the hype surrounding the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is maintaining a calm demeanor about his chances of securing his first drivers' championship.

Norris currently holds a two-dozen point advantage over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by 49 points, with just up to 83 points up for grabs across the final three events. But, after pulling off a remarkable recovery from a significant deficit his teammate following the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is concentrating on executing with the methodical approach that lifted him to the lead of the standings.

"Things can easily go the opposite way again even though I hope it doesn't," he stated. "That's motorsport, as we all know. Sometimes you get lucky. You can end up unfortunate. Whatever it may be. There's really not worth getting excited or dwelling on it. I still view it as a goal that remains far away."

The 26-year-old has found his best form at a critical moment—having struggled with the car in the first part of the season—at the same time that his teammate has shed the disciplined, nearly perfect ease that had for so long made him seem to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris maintained a remarkable level of equanimity all along, insisting even in the face of challenges—such as his retirement from the Zandvoort race—that he would adhere to his strategy and approach every outing with the same relentless attention to detail. This approach has paid off.

Meanwhile, McLaren have worked hard to try to maintain a fair competition for their pair of racers, and it has at times been a rather difficult process, especially at Monza when the team instructed Piastri to surrender second place to his teammate following he had fallen behind due to a slow pit stop. Some fans were unhappy with what was considered McLaren unnecessarily interfering with their drivers.

The championship leader has claimed victory in the last two races, in Mexico and São Paulo, and was jeered on the podium at each, yet he remained unfazed. "Once you are leading, a lot of individuals want to bring you down. They don't like seeing you succeeding. I consider it a positive sign," he said.

"It makes me laugh. When I was on the podium in Brazil, I truly enjoyed it. It was very satisfying. You finally feel like you're doing something right.

"It doesn't bother me, provided that I come out on top. As long as I believe I am competing the right manner, which I feel like I am, as long as I feel like I am dedicating effort into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I am not concerned with external opinions."

Vegas, meanwhile, must be conquered, and it is not a track suited to the British team. It shares characteristics with Canada and Azerbaijan: minimal aerodynamic grip, cool temperatures, and low grip. They are the sole pair of tracks this season where McLaren have failed to secure at least one top-three finish, and Norris was cautious once more about their chances this weekend. Yet, his task in the immediate future is straightforward: finish in front of his teammate and the championship tally he requires will come.

Practice Shows Varied Outcomes for Championship Rivals

The Ferrari driver led the times in FP1 on what was still a dusty and extremely low-grip track. Alex Albon was runner-up, with the Red Bull star in fourth, Norris sixth, and the Australian in eighth. In the more representative night running of FP2, Norris was quickest from the Mercedes of the Italian rookie, with his teammate down in fourteenth; though, the session lost almost all of the final 20 minutes of running to check a reported unsecured drain cover at turn 17.

The issue is taken seriously on a temporary track where, at the first Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a loose drain cover smashed into Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely harming it and causing the practice to be ended.

The German Team Announce Ownership Transaction

Mercedes have revealed that their boss Toto Wolff has divested a 15% stake in his holding company, representing a 5% share in the team, to US tycoon the cybersecurity magnate. Kurtz is the chief executive and creator of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. Wolff will stay on as boss and may receive as much as £230 million from the sale, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57bn, a record for an F1 team.