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Despite all hype surrounding the Sin City Grand Prix, Lando Norris is keeping a calm demeanor about his chances of securing his maiden drivers' championship.

Norris presently has a two-dozen point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by 49 points, with just a maximum of 83 points up for grabs across the final three events. But, after pulling off a remarkable comeback from a significant deficit Piastri following the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is concentrating on performing with the methodical approach that propelled him to the top of the standings.

"Things can quickly go the opposite way again as much as I hope it doesn't," he stated. "That's racing, as we all know. You can also have luck. Other times you also be unfortunate. Whatever it may be. There's really not worth getting excited or dwelling on it. I still view it as something that's quite distant."

Norris has discovered his peak performance at a critical moment—after difficulties with the car in the opening half of the season—while his teammate has lost the disciplined, almost flawless composure that previously made him seem to be a champion in waiting. Notably, Norris kept a remarkable level of equanimity all along, insisting even in the face of setbacks—like his withdrawal from the Dutch GP—that he would adhere to his strategy and work every outing with the same relentless attention to detail. This approach has yielded results.

All the while, the team have gone to no little effort to attempt to maintain a level playing field for their pair of racers, and it has at times been a rather torturous experience, especially at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad directed Piastri to surrender second place to Norris after he had fallen behind because of a slow pit stop. Some fans did not take well to what was considered McLaren needlessly manipulating their drivers.

Norris has won the last two grands prix, in Mexico and Brazil, and was booed on the winner's rostrum at both, yet he remained unmoved. "Once you are on top, many individuals try to undermine you. They don't want to see you winning. I see it as a good thing," he said.

"It amuses me. When I was on the winner's stage in Brazil, I truly enjoyed it. It was very satisfying. At last you feel like you are achieving something right.

"I don't mind, as long as I win. If I feel like I am competing the correct way, and I think that's the case, as long as I am confident I'm putting effort into remaining true to myself and those kinds of things, then I'm not too fussed about the rest of it."

Vegas, meanwhile, needs to be conquered, and it is a circuit suited to the British team. It shares characteristics with Montreal and Azerbaijan: low downforce, cool temperatures, and low grip. They are the sole pair of tracks this season where McLaren have failed to secure at least one top-three finish, and Norris was circumspect again about their prospects in Nevada. Yet, his objective in the short term is straightforward: finish in ahead of Piastri and the points he needs will come.

Friday Running Sees Varied Results for Championship Rivals

The Ferrari driver topped the times in first practice on what was remained a sandy and extremely slippery surface. The Williams racer was second, with Verstappen fourth, the McLaren ace in P6, and Piastri in eighth. In the more indicative night running of FP2, Norris was quickest from the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with Piastri down in fourteenth; however, the practice lost almost all of the final 20 minutes of running to check a suspected loose manhole cover at turn 17.

The issue is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Nevada GP held in 2023, a loose drain cover smashed into the Ferrari, severely harming it and causing the practice to be ended.

Mercedes Announce Ownership Sale

Mercedes have revealed that their boss the Austrian executive has sold a fifteen percent share in his investment firm, representing a five percent ownership in the team, to US tycoon George Kurtz. Kurtz is the CEO and founder of the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. Wolff will remain as team principal and may receive as much as £230m from the sale, with the Brackley-based outfit having been appraised at £4.57bn, a new high for an Formula 1 constructor.