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Despite all excitement surrounding the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lando Norris is keeping a calm demeanor regarding his chances of claiming his maiden world title.

Norris currently has a 24-point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by 49 points, with just up to 83 points available across the remaining trio of races. However, after pulling off a extraordinary recovery from a significant deficit Piastri after the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is concentrating on performing with the methodical approach that propelled him to the lead of the standings.

"It can quickly go in the other direction again as much as I hope it doesn't," he stated. "That's motorsport, as we all know. You can also have luck. You can also be unfortunate. Whatever it may be. It's not worth getting excited or dwelling on it. I still do see it as a goal that's quite far away."

Norris has discovered his peak performance at a crucial juncture—after difficulties with the car in the opening half of the campaign—at the same time that his teammate 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 composure throughout, insisting even in the face of setbacks—such as his withdrawal from the Dutch GP—that he would adhere to his gameplan and approach each session with the identical relentless focus on specifics. It has paid off.

All the while, the team have gone to no little effort to try to preserve a level playing field for their two drivers, and it has at times been something of torturous experience, most notably at Monza when the squad instructed Piastri to surrender the runner-up spot to Norris after he had fallen behind because of a delayed tire change. Certain spectators were unhappy with what was seen as McLaren unnecessarily manipulating their drivers.

Norris has claimed victory in the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico City and São Paulo, and was jeered on the podium at both, yet he remained unfazed. "Once you are on top, a lot of people try to bring you down. They do not like seeing you winning. I consider it a good thing," he said.

"It makes me laugh. When I was on the winner's stage in Interlagos, I truly loved it. The experience was quite satisfying. At last you feel like you're doing something right.

"It doesn't bother me, provided that I come out on top. If I feel like I'm doing it the correct manner, and I think I am, as long as I feel like I'm putting hard work into remaining true to myself and those kinds of things, then I'm not too fussed about external opinions."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be mastered, and it is not a track suited to the British team. It shares similarities with Canada and Baku: low downforce, chilly conditions, and slippery surfaces. They are the only two circuits this season where McLaren have been unable to secure at least one top-three finish, and Norris was circumspect again about their prospects in Nevada. Yet, his task in the immediate future is straightforward: finish in front of his teammate and the points he needs will follow.

Friday Running Sees Varied Outcomes for Championship Contenders

The Ferrari driver led the times in first practice on what was remained a dusty and extremely low-grip track. The Williams racer was runner-up, with Verstappen in fourth, Norris sixth, and the Australian in eighth. In the more representative night running of FP2, the Briton was quickest from the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with Piastri down in fourteenth; however, the session was interrupted for almost all of the final 20 minutes of track time to inspect a suspected unsecured drain cover at turn 17.

This problem is taken seriously on a street circuit where, at the inaugural Nevada GP staged in 2023, a loose manhole smashed into Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely harming it and causing the practice to be ended.

The German Team Confirm Ownership Transaction

Mercedes have confirmed that their team principal Toto Wolff has sold a 15% stake in his holding company, representing a five percent ownership in the team, to American billionaire George Kurtz. Kurtz is the chief executive and creator of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. The team principal will remain as team principal and may receive up to £230 million from the deal, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57 billion, a record for an F1 team.