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Despite the excitement surrounding the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is keeping a level head about his prospects of securing his first drivers' championship.

The British driver presently holds a two-dozen point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by 49 points, with just a maximum of 83 points available across the remaining trio of events. But, after staging a extraordinary comeback from 34 points behind Piastri following the Zandvoort race in August, Norris is focused on executing with the methodical approach that propelled him to the lead of the standings.

"It can easily turn the opposite way again as much as I hope it doesn't," he stated. "That's motorsport, you know. You can get lucky. You can also be unfortunate. Whatever it may be. It's no point getting excited or thinking about it. I still view it as a goal that remains far away."

The 26-year-old has found his peak performance at a crucial moment—after difficulties with the vehicle in the opening half of the season—while his teammate has lost the disciplined, nearly perfect composure that previously made him seem to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris maintained a impressive level of equanimity all along, insisting even in the face of setbacks—such as his withdrawal from the Zandvoort race—that he would adhere to his strategy and approach every outing with the identical relentless attention to detail. It has yielded results.

Meanwhile, McLaren have gone to no little effort to try to preserve a fair competition for their pair of racers, and it has on occasion been a rather torturous process, especially at the Italian Grand Prix when the team directed Piastri to cede the runner-up spot to his teammate after he had fallen behind because of a delayed tire change. Certain spectators did not take well to what was seen as McLaren needlessly interfering with their competitors.

The championship leader has claimed victory in the last two races, in Mexico and Brazil, and was jeered on the winner's rostrum at both, yet he remained unfazed. "When you're on top, many people want to undermine you. They do not want to see you winning. I consider it a good thing," he remarked.

"It just amuses me. While standing on the winner's stage in Interlagos, I really enjoyed it. The experience was quite satisfying. At last you sense that you are achieving success.

"I don't mind, as long as I come out on top. If I believe I am competing the right manner, which I feel like I am, as long as I am confident I am dedicating hard work into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I am not concerned about external opinions."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be mastered, and it is a circuit ideal for the British team. It shares characteristics with Canada and Azerbaijan: low downforce, chilly conditions, and slippery surfaces. These are the sole pair of circuits this season where McLaren have been unable to claim a single top-three finish, and Norris was cautious again about their prospects in Nevada. Yet, his objective in the short term is simple: end the race in front of Piastri and the championship tally he needs will follow.

Practice Shows Mixed Results for Title Rivals

Charles Leclerc led the times in FP1 on what was still a sandy and extremely low-grip track. Alex Albon was runner-up, with the Red Bull star in fourth, Norris in P6, and Piastri in eighth. In the more representative evening session of FP2, the Briton was fastest ahead of the Mercedes of the Italian rookie, with Piastri 14th; though, the session lost nearly the final 20 minutes of track time to inspect a reported unsecured manhole cover at turn 17.

This problem is taken seriously on a street circuit where, at the inaugural Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a dislodged drain cover smashed into the Ferrari, severely harming it and leading to the practice to be ended.

Mercedes Announce Ownership Sale

Mercedes have confirmed that their team principal the Austrian executive has divested a 15% stake in his investment firm, representing a 5% share in the squad, to US tycoon the cybersecurity magnate. The investor is the CEO and founder of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. Wolff will remain as team principal and could earn up to £230 million from the sale, with the Brackley-based outfit having been appraised at £4.57bn, a record for an Formula 1 constructor.