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Amid the hype around the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is maintaining a calm demeanor regarding his chances of claiming his maiden world title.

The British driver currently has a 24-point lead over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by 49 points, with just up to 83 points up for grabs across the final three events. However, after pulling off a extraordinary recovery from a significant deficit his teammate following the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Norris is focused on performing with the clinical precision that propelled him to the top of the standings.

"It can quickly turn the opposite way again even though I hope it doesn't," he stated. "That's motorsport, you know. Sometimes you get lucky. You can end up unfortunate. Whatever it may be. It's not worth becoming overjoyed or dwelling on it. I still do see it as a goal that remains far away."

Norris has found his peak performance at a crucial juncture—after difficulties with the car in the opening half of the season—while his teammate has shed the controlled, almost perfect ease that had for so long made him seem to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris maintained a impressive level of equanimity all along, insisting even in the face of challenges—like his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would adhere to his strategy and approach every outing with the identical relentless focus on specifics. This approach has paid off.

All the while, McLaren have gone to no little effort to attempt to maintain a level playing field for their two drivers, and it has at times been a rather difficult experience, especially at Monza when the squad directed Piastri to cede the runner-up spot to Norris after he had lost the spot due to a slow pit stop. Some fans did not take well to what was considered McLaren needlessly interfering with their drivers.

The championship leader has won the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico City and São Paulo, and was jeered on the winner's rostrum at both, yet he remained unfazed. "Once you are on top, a lot of people try to undermine you. They do not like seeing you succeeding. I consider it a good thing," he remarked.

"It makes me laugh. While standing on the podium in Interlagos, I truly loved it. The experience was very satisfying. You finally sense that you are achieving something right.

"It doesn't bother me, as long as I win. If I believe I'm doing it the correct way, and I think that's the case, so long as I feel like I am dedicating effort into remaining true to myself and those kinds of things, then I'm not too fussed with external opinions."

Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be mastered, and it is a circuit ideal for the McLaren. It shares similarities with Montreal and Azerbaijan: low downforce, cool temperatures, and slippery surfaces. They are the only two tracks this season where the papaya squad have failed to secure a single top-three finish, and Norris was cautious again about their prospects in Nevada. Yet, his task in the short term is straightforward: end the race in ahead of Piastri and the points he requires will follow.

Practice Shows Mixed Outcomes for Championship Rivals

Charles Leclerc led the times in FP1 on what was still a dusty and very slippery track. The Williams racer was second, with Verstappen fourth, Norris in P6, and Piastri eighth. In the more indicative night running of FP2, the Briton was quickest from the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, with his teammate down in fourteenth; however, the session lost almost all of the last third of track time to inspect a reported unsecured drain cover at the penultimate corner.

This problem is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the first Nevada GP staged in 2023, a loose drain cover struck the Ferrari, severely harming it and leading to the practice to be aborted.

The German Team Confirm Ownership Sale

The eight-time constructors' champions have confirmed that their boss Toto Wolff has sold a fifteen percent share in his investment firm, representing a five percent ownership in the squad, to American billionaire George Kurtz. The investor is the CEO and founder of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. Wolff will remain as team principal and could earn as much as £230m from the deal, with Mercedes having been appraised at £4.57bn, a new high for an Formula 1 constructor.