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

The British driver currently has a two-dozen point lead over fellow McLaren driver 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 comeback from a significant deficit his teammate following the Dutch Grand Prix in the summer, Norris is focused on performing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the top of the championship.

"It can easily turn in the other direction again as much as I don't want it to," he commented. "That's racing, as we all know. Sometimes you also have luck. You can also be unfortunate. No matter what happens. There's really no point getting excited or dwelling on it. I continue to view it as something that remains distant."

Norris has found his best form at a critical juncture—after difficulties with the car in the first part of the campaign—at the same time that Piastri has lost the controlled, almost flawless ease that had for so long 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—like his withdrawal from the Zandvoort race—that he would stick to his strategy and work every outing with the identical relentless attention to detail. This approach has paid off.

All the while, the team have worked hard to try to preserve a level playing field for their two drivers, and it has on occasion been a rather torturous experience, especially at the Italian Grand Prix when the team directed the Australian to cede second place to his teammate following he had fallen behind due to a slow pit stop. Some fans were unhappy with what was considered McLaren needlessly interfering with their competitors.

Norris has claimed victory in the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico and São Paulo, and was booed on the winner's rostrum at each, leaving him unfazed. "When you're leading, a lot of individuals want to undermine you. They don't like seeing you winning. I consider it a good thing," he remarked.

"It just makes me laugh. While standing on the winner's stage in Brazil, I truly enjoyed it. The experience was very enjoyable. You finally sense that you are achieving something right.

"I don't mind, as long as I win. If I feel like I am competing the correct manner, which I feel like that's the case, as long as I feel like I'm putting hard work into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I am not concerned with the rest of it."

Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be conquered, and it is a circuit suited to the British team. The layout has characteristics with Canada and Baku: low downforce, cool temperatures, and low grip. These are the sole pair of circuits 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 simple: end the race in front of Piastri and the points he needs will come.

Friday Running Sees Mixed Results for Championship Contenders

The Ferrari driver led the times in first practice on what was still a sandy and extremely slippery track. Alex Albon was runner-up, with the Red Bull star in fourth, the McLaren ace in P6, and Piastri in eighth. In the more representative evening session of FP2, the Briton was quickest ahead of the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, with Piastri 14th; though, the session lost nearly the final 20 minutes of track time to check a reported loose manhole cover at the penultimate corner.

The issue is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Nevada GP held in 2023, a loose manhole struck the Ferrari, severely damaging it and causing the session to be ended.

Mercedes Announce Ownership Sale

The eight-time constructors' champions have revealed that their boss the Austrian executive has sold a fifteen percent share in his holding company, representing a 5% share in the team, to US tycoon the cybersecurity magnate. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the digital protection firm the tech giant. Wolff will stay on as boss and may receive up to £230 million from the deal, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57bn, a new high for an F1 team.