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Amid the excitement surrounding the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is keeping a calm demeanor about 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 49 points, with just a maximum of 83 points up for grabs across the final three races. However, after pulling off a remarkable comeback from a significant deficit Piastri after 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 easily go in the other direction once more even though I don't want it to," he stated. "That's motorsport, as we all know. Sometimes you also have luck. You can end up unlucky. No matter what happens. It's not worth getting excited or thinking about it. I still view it as a goal that remains distant."

Norris has discovered his best form at a critical moment—having struggled with the car in the opening half of the campaign—at the same time that Piastri has shed the controlled, nearly perfect composure that previously made him appear to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris maintained a remarkable level of composure all along, insisting even in the face of setbacks—such as his withdrawal from the Zandvoort race—that he would stick to his gameplan and work each session with the same unwavering attention to detail. It has paid off.

Meanwhile, 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 something of torturous process, especially at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad directed Piastri to cede the runner-up spot to his teammate after he had fallen behind due to a slow pit stop. Some fans were unhappy with what was considered the team needlessly interfering with their competitors.

The championship leader has won the last two races, in Mexico and São Paulo, and was jeered on the winner's rostrum at both, leaving him unfazed. "Once you are on top, many individuals try to bring you down. They don't like seeing you winning. I see it as a good thing," he remarked.

"It makes me laugh. When I was on the podium in Interlagos, I really loved it. The experience was quite enjoyable. You finally feel like you're doing something right.

"I don't mind, provided that I come out on top. If I believe I'm doing it the correct way, and I think I am, as long as I am confident I am dedicating effort into remaining true to myself and those kinds of things, 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 British team. It shares similarities with Montreal and Baku: minimal aerodynamic grip, cool temperatures, and low grip. These are the only two circuits in the current championship where the papaya squad have failed to claim at least one podium place, and the leader was circumspect again about their prospects in Nevada. Still, his objective in the short term is simple: finish in ahead of his teammate and the championship tally he needs will come.

Friday Running Shows Mixed Results for Championship Contenders

Charles Leclerc topped the leaderboard in first practice on what was remained a dusty and extremely slippery track. Alex Albon was second, with the Red Bull star fourth, the McLaren ace sixth, and Piastri in eighth. During the more representative night running of FP2, Norris was fastest from the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, with Piastri down in fourteenth; however, the session lost almost all of the last third of track time to inspect a reported unsecured manhole cover at the penultimate corner.

This problem is taken seriously on a street circuit where, at the inaugural Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a loose manhole struck Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely harming it and causing the session to be aborted.

Mercedes Announce Stake Sale

The eight-time constructors' champions have confirmed that their team principal Toto Wolff has sold a fifteen percent share in his holding company, representing a five percent ownership in the team, to American billionaire the cybersecurity magnate. Kurtz is the CEO and founder of the digital protection firm the tech giant. The team principal will stay on as boss and could earn as much as £230 million from the sale, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57 billion, a new high for an F1 team.