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Despite the excitement surrounding the Sin City Grand Prix, Lando Norris is maintaining a level head regarding his prospects of securing his first drivers' championship.

The British driver currently has a two-dozen point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by 49 points, with just up to 83 points available across the final three events. However, after pulling off a remarkable comeback from 34 points behind Piastri following the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is focused on performing with the methodical approach that propelled him to the lead of the standings.

"Things can easily go in the other direction once more as much as I hope it doesn't," he stated. "That's racing, you know. Sometimes you get lucky. Other times you end up unfortunate. Whatever it may be. There's really no point becoming overjoyed or dwelling on it. I continue to do see it as a goal that's quite far away."

The 26-year-old has found his peak performance at a critical juncture—having struggled with the vehicle in the first part of the season—at the same time that Piastri has lost the disciplined, almost perfect composure that had for so long made him appear to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris maintained a remarkable level of equanimity all along, asserting despite setbacks—like his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his gameplan and approach every outing with the identical relentless attention to detail. It has yielded results.

All the while, the team have worked hard to attempt 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 team directed Piastri to cede second place to his teammate after he had fallen behind because of a slow pit stop. Some fans did not take well to what was seen as McLaren unnecessarily manipulating their competitors.

Norris has won the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico City and São Paulo, and was booed on the podium at each, leaving him unfazed. "Once you are on top, many individuals try to undermine you. They don't want to see you succeeding. I see it as a positive sign," he said.

"It amuses me. While standing on the podium in Interlagos, I truly enjoyed it. It was quite enjoyable. At last you feel like you are achieving success.

"It doesn't bother me, provided that I win. As long as I believe I am competing the right way, which I feel like that's the case, so long as I feel like I am dedicating hard work into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I am not concerned with external opinions."

Vegas, meanwhile, must be mastered, and it is not a track suited to the British team. It shares characteristics with Canada and Baku: minimal aerodynamic grip, cool temperatures, and slippery surfaces. They are the only two tracks this season where McLaren have failed to secure at least one top-three finish, and the leader was cautious once more about their chances this weekend. Yet, his task in the immediate future is simple: end the race in ahead of his teammate and the points he requires will come.

Friday Running Shows Mixed Outcomes for Title Rivals

Charles Leclerc led the leaderboard in first practice on what was still a sandy and very slippery surface. Alex Albon was second, with Verstappen in fourth, Norris sixth, and the Australian eighth. In the more representative night running of FP2, the Briton was fastest from the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with Piastri down in fourteenth; though, the practice lost nearly the last third of running to inspect a suspected unsecured manhole cover at the penultimate corner.

This problem is treated with caution on a street circuit where, at the inaugural Nevada GP staged in 2023, a loose drain cover struck the Ferrari, severely damaging it and causing the practice to be ended.

The German Team Announce Stake Sale

Mercedes have confirmed that their boss the Austrian executive has sold a 15% stake in his holding company, representing a five percent ownership in the team, 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 team principal and may receive as much as £230 million from the deal, with the Brackley-based outfit having been appraised at £4.57 billion, a record for an Formula 1 constructor.