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Amid all hype surrounding the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is maintaining a calm demeanor regarding his prospects of securing his maiden drivers' championship.

Norris currently holds a 24-point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by 49 points, with just a maximum of 83 points available across the remaining trio of events. But, after staging a remarkable recovery from a significant deficit Piastri following the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is concentrating on performing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the lead of the championship.

"It can easily turn the opposite way once more as much as I hope it doesn't," he stated. "That's racing, as we all know. Sometimes you get lucky. You can also be unlucky. Whatever it may be. There's really no point becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I continue to view it as something that remains far away."

Norris has discovered his peak performance at a crucial juncture—after difficulties with the vehicle in the opening half of the campaign—while Piastri has shed the controlled, nearly perfect composure that had for so long made him seem to be a champion in waiting. Importantly, Norris maintained a impressive level of equanimity throughout, asserting even in the face of setbacks—like his retirement from the Zandvoort race—that he would stick to his gameplan and work every outing with the same unwavering focus on specifics. This approach has yielded results.

Meanwhile, the team have worked hard to attempt to preserve a fair competition for their pair of racers, and it has on occasion been a rather difficult process, most notably at the Italian Grand Prix when the team directed Piastri to cede the runner-up spot to his teammate after he had lost the spot because of a slow pit stop. Some fans were unhappy with what was considered the team needlessly manipulating their drivers.

Norris has won the last two grands prix, in Mexico City and Brazil, and was jeered on the podium at each, leaving him unfazed. "Once you are leading, a lot of people try to bring you down. They do not want to see you succeeding. I consider it a positive sign," he said.

"It just amuses me. When I was on the winner's stage in Brazil, I truly enjoyed it. It was very enjoyable. You finally sense that you're doing success.

"I don't mind, provided that I win. As long as I believe I'm doing it the right manner, which I feel like I am, as long as I am confident I'm putting hard work into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I'm not too fussed about the rest of it."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be conquered, and it is not a track suited to the McLaren. It shares similarities with Canada and Azerbaijan: minimal aerodynamic grip, cool temperatures, and slippery surfaces. They are the sole pair of circuits in the current championship where the papaya squad have failed to secure a single podium place, and the leader was circumspect again about their chances in Nevada. Yet, his objective in the short term is straightforward: finish in front of his teammate and the points he requires will come.

Friday Running Sees Mixed Results for Title Rivals

The Ferrari driver topped the leaderboard in FP1 on what was remained a sandy and extremely slippery track. Alex Albon was second, with the Red Bull star fourth, Norris sixth, and Piastri eighth. During the more indicative night running of FP2, Norris was quickest from the Mercedes of the Italian rookie, with his teammate down in fourteenth; however, the practice lost nearly the last third of running to check a reported unsecured manhole cover at turn 17.

The issue is taken seriously on a street circuit where, at the first Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a loose manhole struck the Ferrari, severely damaging it and leading to the practice to be ended.

The German Team Announce Ownership Sale

Mercedes have confirmed that their team principal Toto Wolff has divested a 15% stake in his investment firm, equating to a five percent ownership in the team, to US tycoon the cybersecurity magnate. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the digital protection firm CrowdStrike. The team principal will stay on as boss and may receive as much as £230 million from the sale, with the Brackley-based outfit having been valued at £4.57bn, a record for an Formula 1 constructor.