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Despite the hype around the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is maintaining a level head about his chances of claiming his maiden drivers' championship.

The British driver presently holds a two-dozen point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by 49 points, with just up to 83 points up for grabs across the final three races. However, after staging a remarkable recovery from 34 points behind his teammate following the Dutch Grand Prix in the summer, Norris is concentrating on executing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the top of the championship.

"Things can quickly turn the opposite way once more as much as I don't want it to," he stated. "That's racing, as we all know. Sometimes you get lucky. Other times you end up unlucky. Whatever it may be. There's really not worth becoming overjoyed or dwelling on it. I continue to do see it as something that's quite distant."

The 26-year-old has found his peak performance at a crucial juncture—having struggled with the vehicle in the opening half of the season—at the same time that Piastri has lost the disciplined, almost flawless composure that previously made him seem to be a champion in waiting. Notably, Norris kept a remarkable level of composure throughout, asserting despite challenges—like his retirement from the Zandvoort race—that he would stick to his gameplan and approach every outing with the same unwavering focus on specifics. This approach has paid off.

Meanwhile, the team have gone to no little effort to attempt to maintain a level playing field for their pair of racers, and it has on occasion been a rather torturous process, especially at Monza when the squad directed the Australian to cede second place to Norris following he had fallen behind due to a delayed tire change. Some fans did not take well to what was considered the team unnecessarily interfering with their drivers.

The championship leader has claimed victory in the previous pair of races, in Mexico and Brazil, and was jeered on the podium at each, leaving him unmoved. "Once you are leading, a lot of individuals try to bring you down. They don't want to see you winning. I consider it a positive sign," he said.

"It makes me laugh. While standing on the podium in Brazil, I really loved it. It was quite enjoyable. At last you sense that you're doing success.

"I don't mind, as long as I win. If I feel like I am competing the correct way, which I feel like I am, as long as I feel like I am dedicating effort into being who I am and similar principles, then I'm not too fussed with external opinions."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be conquered, and it is a circuit suited to the McLaren. The layout has similarities with Montreal and Azerbaijan: low downforce, cool temperatures, and slippery surfaces. These are the only two circuits in the current championship where McLaren have been unable to secure at least one top-three finish, and Norris was circumspect once more about their chances in Nevada. Yet, his objective in the immediate future is straightforward: end the race in front of his teammate and the points he requires will follow.

Practice Sees Varied Outcomes for Championship Rivals

The Ferrari driver led the leaderboard in FP1 on what was still a dusty and very low-grip track. The Williams racer was second, with the Red Bull star fourth, the McLaren ace sixth, and the Australian in eighth. During the more representative evening session of second practice, Norris was fastest ahead of the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with Piastri 14th; though, the session was interrupted for nearly the final 20 minutes of track time to check a reported loose manhole cover at turn 17.

This problem is taken seriously on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Las Vegas GP held in 2023, a dislodged drain cover smashed into the Ferrari, severely harming it and causing the session to be aborted.

Mercedes Announce Ownership Sale

The eight-time constructors' champions have confirmed that their boss the Austrian executive has divested a fifteen percent share in his investment firm, representing a five percent ownership in the team, to US tycoon George Kurtz. Kurtz is the CEO and founder of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. The team principal will stay on as team principal and may receive as much as £230 million from the deal, with Mercedes having been appraised at £4.57 billion, a new high for an F1 team.