🔗 Share this article

Despite the hype around the Sin City Grand Prix, Lando Norris is maintaining a calm demeanor about his prospects of securing his maiden drivers' championship.

Norris currently has a 24-point lead over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with only up to 83 points up for grabs across the final three events. However, after pulling off a extraordinary comeback from 34 points behind Piastri following the Dutch Grand Prix in the summer, Norris is concentrating on executing with the methodical approach that propelled him to the lead of the championship.

"Things can quickly go in the other direction once more even though I hope it doesn't," he stated. "That's racing, as we all know. Sometimes you get lucky. Other times you also be unlucky. No matter what happens. There's really no point getting excited or thinking about it. I still do see it as something that's quite distant."

The 26-year-old has discovered his best form at a critical juncture—having struggled with the car in the opening half of the season—at the same time that his teammate has lost the controlled, almost perfect ease that had for so long made him appear to be a champion in waiting. Importantly, Norris kept a remarkable level of composure all along, asserting even in the face of challenges—such as his retirement from the Zandvoort race—that he would adhere to his strategy and work every outing with the same relentless focus on specifics. It has paid off.

All the while, 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 team instructed the Australian to cede second place to Norris after he had lost the spot because of a delayed tire change. Some fans were unhappy with what was considered McLaren unnecessarily manipulating their drivers.

Norris has claimed victory in the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico City and São Paulo, and was booed on the winner's rostrum at both, leaving him unmoved. "Once you are on top, a lot of people try to undermine you. They don't like seeing you succeeding. I see it as a good thing," he said.

"It makes me laugh. While standing on the podium in Interlagos, I truly loved it. It was very enjoyable. You finally sense that you are achieving success.

"I don't mind, as long as I come out on top. If I feel like I am competing the correct manner, and I think that's the case, as long as I am confident I am dedicating hard work into being who I am and similar principles, then I'm not too fussed about external opinions."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, must be conquered, and it is not a track suited to the British team. The layout has similarities with Canada and Baku: low downforce, cool temperatures, and slippery surfaces. They are the only two tracks in the current championship where McLaren have been unable to secure at least one top-three finish, and the leader was circumspect again about their chances in Nevada. Still, his task in the immediate future is straightforward: finish in front of his teammate and the championship tally he requires will follow.

Practice Sees Mixed Outcomes for Title Contenders

The Ferrari driver topped the leaderboard in FP1 on what was remained a sandy and extremely low-grip surface. The Williams racer was runner-up, with the Red Bull star in fourth, the McLaren ace sixth, and Piastri in eighth. In the more indicative evening session of second practice, Norris was fastest ahead of the Silver Arrows of Kimi Antonelli, with Piastri down in fourteenth; though, the practice lost nearly the last third of track time to inspect a suspected unsecured drain cover at turn 17.

The issue is taken seriously on a street circuit where, at the first Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a loose drain cover smashed into the Ferrari, heavily damaging it and leading to the session to be ended.

Mercedes Confirm Stake Sale

The eight-time constructors' champions have revealed that their boss Toto Wolff has divested 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 digital protection firm the tech giant. The team principal will stay on as boss and may receive as much as £230m from the sale, with Mercedes having been appraised at £4.57 billion, a new high for an F1 team.