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Despite the hype around the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is keeping a level head regarding his prospects of claiming his maiden world title.

The British driver currently has a 24-point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with just a maximum of 83 points available across the final three events. However, after staging a extraordinary recovery from 34 points behind Piastri after 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 don't want it to," he commented. "That's racing, you know. Sometimes you also have luck. Other times you also be unfortunate. Whatever it may be. There's really no point becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I continue to view it as something that's quite distant."

Norris has discovered his best form at a critical moment—after difficulties with the vehicle in the opening half of the campaign—while his teammate has lost the controlled, nearly perfect composure that had for so long made him appear to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris kept a impressive level of equanimity throughout, insisting despite setbacks—such as his withdrawal from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his strategy and work every outing with the identical unwavering focus on specifics. It has yielded results.

All the while, McLaren have worked hard to attempt to maintain a level playing field for their pair of racers, and it has at times been something of difficult process, most notably at Monza when the squad directed Piastri to cede second place to Norris following he had fallen behind because of a delayed tire change. Some fans did not take well to what was considered the team unnecessarily interfering with their competitors.

Norris has won the last two races, in Mexico City and Brazil, and was jeered on the podium at both, yet he remained unfazed. "Once you are leading, many people try to undermine you. They don't like seeing you succeeding. I see it as a positive sign," he remarked.

"It makes me laugh. While standing on the podium in Brazil, I really loved it. The experience was very satisfying. You finally feel like you are achieving something right.

"It doesn't bother me, as long as I come out on top. If I believe I'm doing it the correct manner, and I think that's the case, as long as I feel like I am dedicating hard work into remaining true to myself and those kinds of things, then I am not concerned with the rest of it."

Vegas, meanwhile, needs to be conquered, and it is a circuit suited to the British team. The layout has characteristics with Montreal and Baku: low downforce, chilly conditions, and slippery surfaces. These are the sole pair of tracks this season where McLaren have failed to secure a single podium place, and Norris was cautious once more about their chances this weekend. Yet, his task in the immediate future is simple: end the race in front of his teammate and the points he requires will come.

Friday Running Sees Varied Results for Title Rivals

Charles Leclerc led the leaderboard in FP1 on what was still a dusty and very slippery surface. Alex Albon was second, with the Red Bull star in fourth, the McLaren ace in P6, and the Australian eighth. In the more indicative evening session of FP2, Norris was quickest from the Mercedes of the Italian rookie, with his teammate down in fourteenth; however, the session lost nearly the final 20 minutes of track time to check a suspected loose drain cover at turn 17.

This problem is taken seriously on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a loose drain cover struck Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely harming it and causing the session to be ended.

The German Team Confirm Ownership Transaction

Mercedes have confirmed that their boss Toto Wolff has sold a 15% stake in his holding company, equating to a 5% share in the squad, to US tycoon George Kurtz. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. Wolff will remain as team principal and could earn up to £230m from the sale, with the Brackley-based outfit having been appraised at £4.57 billion, a new high for an Formula 1 constructor.