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Amid the excitement around the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is keeping a calm demeanor regarding his prospects of securing his first drivers' championship.

Norris presently has a 24-point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by 49 points, with just a maximum of 83 points available across the final three events. However, after pulling off a remarkable recovery from 34 points behind Piastri after the Zandvoort race in August, Norris is focused on executing with the methodical approach that lifted him to the lead of the standings.

"Things can quickly turn in the other direction once more even though I hope it doesn't," he stated. "That's racing, as we all know. You can get lucky. Other times you also be unfortunate. Whatever it may be. There's really no point getting excited or dwelling on it. I still do see it as something that remains distant."

The 26-year-old has found his peak performance at a crucial moment—after difficulties with the car in the first part of the campaign—while Piastri has lost the disciplined, almost flawless ease that previously made him appear to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris maintained a impressive level of composure throughout, asserting even in the face of challenges—like his retirement from the Zandvoort race—that he would stick to his strategy and approach each session with the same relentless attention to detail. It has yielded results.

All the while, McLaren have gone to no little effort to attempt to maintain a level playing field for their two drivers, and it has at times been a rather torturous process, especially at Monza when the squad instructed Piastri to surrender the runner-up spot to his teammate following he had lost the spot because of a delayed tire change. Some fans were unhappy with what was seen as the team needlessly interfering with their drivers.

Norris has claimed victory in the last two grands prix, in Mexico and São Paulo, and was booed on the winner's rostrum at each, leaving him unfazed. "Once you are leading, a lot of people want to undermine you. They don't want to see you succeeding. I see it as a good thing," he said.

"It makes me laugh. When I was on the podium in Brazil, I really loved it. It was quite enjoyable. At last you sense that you are achieving success.

"I don't mind, as long as I come out on top. If I feel like I'm doing it the correct way, and I think I am, as long as I am confident I'm putting effort into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I am not concerned about the rest of it."

Vegas, meanwhile, must be mastered, and it is not a track suited to the McLaren. It shares similarities with Canada and Azerbaijan: low downforce, cool temperatures, and low grip. These are the only two tracks in the current championship where McLaren have failed to claim at least one podium place, and the leader was cautious once more about their chances in Nevada. Still, his task in the immediate future is straightforward: end the race in ahead of Piastri and the championship tally he requires will come.

Friday Running Shows Mixed Results for Championship Rivals

The Ferrari driver topped the times in first practice on what was remained a sandy and very slippery surface. Alex Albon was second, with Verstappen in fourth, Norris sixth, and Piastri in eighth. During the more representative night running of FP2, Norris was fastest ahead of the Mercedes of the Italian rookie, with his teammate 14th; though, the practice was interrupted for nearly the final 20 minutes of track time to inspect a suspected unsecured manhole cover at the penultimate corner.

The issue is taken seriously on a street circuit where, at the inaugural Nevada GP held in 2023, a loose manhole struck Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, heavily harming it and leading to the practice to be ended.

The German Team Confirm Ownership Sale

The eight-time constructors' champions have revealed that their boss the Austrian executive has sold a 15% stake in his investment firm, equating to a 5% share in the squad, to American billionaire George Kurtz. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. Wolff will remain as team principal and may receive as much as £230 million from the deal, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57 billion, a new high for an F1 team.