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Despite the hype around the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lando Norris is keeping a calm demeanor about his prospects of securing his maiden drivers' championship.

The British driver presently has a 24-point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with only a maximum of 83 points up for grabs across the final three events. However, after staging a extraordinary comeback from 34 points behind Piastri following the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Norris is concentrating on performing with the clinical precision that propelled him to the top of the standings.

"It can quickly go the opposite way again as much as I don't want it to," he stated. "That's motorsport, as we all know. Sometimes you get lucky. You can end up unlucky. No matter what happens. It's no point getting excited or dwelling on it. I still view it as a goal that's quite distant."

Norris has found his best form at a critical juncture—having struggled with the car in the opening half of the season—while his teammate has lost the controlled, nearly flawless ease that previously made him seem to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris maintained a remarkable level of composure throughout, insisting even in the face of challenges—such as his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would adhere to his gameplan and work every outing with the same unwavering attention to detail. This approach has paid off.

All the while, the team have gone to no little effort to attempt to maintain a fair competition for their two drivers, and it has on occasion been a rather difficult process, especially at Monza when the team directed the Australian to surrender the runner-up spot to his teammate after he had lost the spot because of a delayed tire change. Certain spectators did not take well to what was seen as McLaren unnecessarily interfering with their drivers.

Norris has claimed victory in the last two grands prix, in Mexico and São Paulo, and was jeered on the podium at both, leaving him unmoved. "When you're leading, a lot of individuals try to bring you down. They don't like seeing you succeeding. I consider it a positive sign," he said.

"It makes me laugh. While standing on the winner's stage in Interlagos, I really loved it. The experience was quite enjoyable. At last you feel like you are achieving something right.

"I don't mind, as long as I come out on top. If I believe I'm doing it the right way, which I feel like I am, as long as I feel like I'm putting effort into being who I am and similar principles, then I am not concerned about the rest of it."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, must be conquered, and it is not a track suited to the McLaren. It shares characteristics with Canada and Azerbaijan: minimal aerodynamic grip, chilly conditions, and slippery surfaces. These are the sole pair of tracks this season where the papaya squad have been unable to secure at least one top-three finish, and the leader was cautious once more about their prospects this weekend. Still, his task in the short term is simple: end the race in front of his teammate and the championship tally he needs will come.

Friday Running Shows Mixed Results for Title Contenders

Charles Leclerc led the times in FP1 on what was remained a sandy and very low-grip surface. The Williams racer was runner-up, with the Red Bull star fourth, Norris in P6, and the Australian in eighth. During the more representative evening session of FP2, Norris was quickest ahead of the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, with his teammate 14th; though, the practice lost nearly the final 20 minutes of track time to inspect a suspected loose drain cover at turn 17.

The issue is taken seriously on a street circuit where, at the first Nevada GP staged in 2023, a dislodged drain cover smashed into the Ferrari, heavily damaging it and causing the practice to be aborted.

Mercedes Confirm Stake Transaction

Mercedes have revealed that their boss the Austrian executive has divested a 15% stake in his investment firm, representing a five percent ownership in the squad, to American billionaire the cybersecurity magnate. Kurtz is the chief executive and creator of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. The team principal will remain as boss and could earn as much as £230 million from the sale, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57 billion, a new high for an F1 team.