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Amid all hype around the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lando Norris is keeping a calm demeanor about his prospects of securing his first world title.

Norris currently holds a 24-point advantage over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with only a maximum of 83 points available across the final three races. However, after staging a remarkable comeback from 34 points behind Piastri following the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Norris is focused on performing with the methodical approach that lifted him to the top of the championship.

"Things can easily turn the opposite way once more even though I hope it doesn't," he commented. "That's motorsport, as we all know. You can get lucky. You can end up unlucky. Whatever it may be. It's not worth becoming overjoyed or dwelling on it. I still view it as a goal that's quite distant."

The 26-year-old has discovered his best form at a crucial juncture—having struggled with the car in the opening half of the campaign—at the same time that his teammate has lost the disciplined, nearly flawless ease that previously made him appear to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris maintained a impressive level of equanimity all along, asserting even in the face of challenges—such as his retirement from the Zandvoort race—that he would adhere to his gameplan and work every outing with the identical relentless attention to detail. This approach has yielded results.

Meanwhile, McLaren have gone to no little effort to try to maintain a level playing field for their two drivers, and it has at times been a rather difficult experience, most notably at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad instructed the Australian to cede the runner-up spot to his teammate following he had lost the spot because of a delayed tire change. Some fans did not take well to what was considered McLaren unnecessarily interfering with their competitors.

Norris has claimed victory in the last two races, in Mexico City and Brazil, and was booed on the winner's rostrum at both, leaving him unmoved. "When you're leading, many people want to bring you down. They don't want to see you succeeding. I consider it a positive sign," he said.

"It just amuses me. When I was on the podium in Brazil, I truly enjoyed it. It was quite enjoyable. At last you feel like you're doing something right.

"It doesn't bother me, provided that I come out on top. If I believe I'm doing it the right manner, which I feel like that's the case, as long as I am confident I'm putting effort into being who I am and similar principles, then I'm not too fussed about the rest of it."

Vegas, meanwhile, needs to be conquered, and it is not a track suited to the McLaren. The layout has characteristics with Montreal and Azerbaijan: low downforce, chilly conditions, and slippery surfaces. They are the only two tracks this season where the papaya squad have been unable to claim at least one podium place, and the leader was cautious once more about their chances this weekend. Still, his objective in the short term is simple: end the race in front of Piastri and the points he requires will come.

Practice Sees Mixed Results for Championship Contenders

Charles Leclerc led the leaderboard in FP1 on what was remained a dusty and very low-grip surface. The Williams racer was second, with Verstappen in fourth, the McLaren ace in P6, and Piastri in eighth. During the more representative evening session of second practice, Norris was fastest from the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, with his teammate down in fourteenth; however, the practice lost nearly the last third of track time to inspect a reported unsecured drain cover at the penultimate corner.

This problem is taken seriously on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Nevada GP held in 2023, a loose drain cover smashed into Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, heavily harming it and causing the practice to be aborted.

Mercedes Announce Ownership Transaction

Mercedes have revealed that their team principal Toto Wolff has divested a 15% stake in his holding company, equating to a 5% share in the squad, to American billionaire the cybersecurity magnate. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. Wolff will remain as boss and could earn as much as £230 million from the deal, with Mercedes having been appraised at £4.57bn, a new high for an Formula 1 constructor.