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Amid all excitement surrounding the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lando Norris is keeping a calm demeanor regarding his prospects of securing his maiden drivers' championship.

The British driver currently holds a two-dozen point advantage over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with only a maximum of 83 points available across the remaining trio of races. However, after pulling off a remarkable recovery from 34 points behind his teammate following the Dutch Grand Prix in the summer, Norris is focused on executing with the methodical approach that lifted him to the lead of the standings.

"It can quickly turn the opposite way again even though I don't want it to," he commented. "That's racing, as we all know. Sometimes you also have luck. You can end up unfortunate. Whatever it may be. It's no point becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I still view it as something that's quite far away."

The 26-year-old has found his peak performance at a critical moment—after difficulties with the vehicle in the first part of the season—at the same time that Piastri has lost the disciplined, almost flawless ease that previously made him seem to be a champion in waiting. Importantly, Norris kept a impressive level of equanimity throughout, insisting despite setbacks—such as his withdrawal from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his gameplan and work each session with the same relentless focus on specifics. It has yielded results.

Meanwhile, McLaren have worked hard to attempt to maintain a fair competition for their two drivers, and it has on occasion been something of torturous process, most notably at Monza when the team instructed the Australian to cede the runner-up spot to Norris after he had lost the spot due to a slow pit stop. Certain spectators were unhappy with what was considered McLaren unnecessarily interfering with their competitors.

The championship leader has claimed victory in the last two races, in Mexico City and Brazil, and was booed on the podium at both, yet he remained unfazed. "Once you are on top, a lot of individuals try to undermine you. They do not want to see you succeeding. I consider it a positive sign," he said.

"It just makes me laugh. When I was on the winner's stage in Interlagos, I really loved it. The experience was quite enjoyable. At last you feel like you are achieving success.

"I don't mind, as long as I come out on top. As long as I believe I'm doing it the correct manner, which I feel like I am, so long as I am confident I'm putting effort into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I'm not too fussed with the rest of it."

Vegas, meanwhile, needs to be conquered, and it is a circuit suited to the McLaren. It shares characteristics with Montreal and Azerbaijan: minimal aerodynamic grip, chilly conditions, and slippery surfaces. They are the sole pair of circuits this season where McLaren have been unable to claim a single top-three finish, and Norris was cautious once more about their chances in Nevada. Yet, his objective in the immediate future is straightforward: end the race in ahead of Piastri and the championship tally he needs will follow.

Practice Sees Varied Results for Championship Contenders

Charles Leclerc topped the leaderboard in FP1 on what was still a dusty and extremely slippery track. Alex Albon was second, with Verstappen fourth, the McLaren ace in P6, and Piastri eighth. During the more representative night running of FP2, the Briton was quickest from the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, with his teammate down in fourteenth; however, the practice lost almost all of the last third of track time to check a reported unsecured drain cover at the penultimate corner.

This problem is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the first Nevada GP held in 2023, a dislodged manhole struck the Ferrari, severely damaging it and leading to the session to be aborted.

Mercedes Confirm Ownership Transaction

Mercedes have revealed that their team principal the Austrian executive has divested a fifteen percent share 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 CrowdStrike. The team principal will stay on as boss and could earn as much as £230m from the sale, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57 billion, a record for an F1 team.