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Despite the excitement surrounding the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is keeping a level head regarding his chances of claiming his first world title.

Norris presently has a 24-point advantage over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by 49 points, with only up to 83 points available across the remaining trio of events. But, after staging a extraordinary comeback from 34 points behind his teammate after the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is concentrating on executing with the methodical approach that propelled him to the lead of the standings.

"It can easily turn the opposite way again as much as I don't want it to," he commented. "That's racing, as we all know. You can get lucky. Other times you end up unlucky. No matter what happens. It's no point becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I continue to do see it as a goal that remains distant."

Norris has discovered his best form at a crucial juncture—after difficulties with the vehicle in the opening half of the campaign—at the same time that Piastri has shed the disciplined, nearly perfect ease that previously made him appear to be a champion in waiting. Notably, Norris maintained a impressive level of composure all along, asserting despite setbacks—such as his withdrawal from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his gameplan and work each session with the identical unwavering attention to detail. It has yielded results.

All the while, McLaren have gone to no little effort to try to preserve a fair competition for their two drivers, and it has on occasion been something of torturous experience, especially at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad instructed the Australian to surrender second place to his teammate after he had lost the spot because of a delayed tire change. Certain spectators were unhappy with what was considered McLaren unnecessarily manipulating their competitors.

Norris has claimed victory in the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico and São Paulo, and was jeered on the podium at each, yet he remained unmoved. "Once you are on top, many people try to bring you down. They don't like seeing you winning. I see it as a positive sign," he remarked.

"It makes me laugh. When I was on the podium in Interlagos, I truly enjoyed it. The experience was quite enjoyable. At last you sense that you're doing something right.

"It doesn't bother me, as long as I come out on top. If I believe I am competing the correct manner, and I think that's the case, as long as I am confident I'm putting hard work into remaining true to myself and similar principles, then I am not concerned about external opinions."

Las Vegas, meanwhile, needs to be conquered, and it is a circuit suited to the British team. It shares characteristics with Canada and Baku: low downforce, cool temperatures, and slippery surfaces. These are the sole pair of tracks this season where the papaya squad have been unable to claim a single podium place, and Norris was cautious again about their chances this weekend. Still, his objective in the short term is simple: end the race in front of Piastri and the points he needs will follow.

Friday Running Sees Mixed Results for Championship Contenders

Charles Leclerc topped the leaderboard in FP1 on what was remained a dusty and extremely low-grip track. Alex Albon was runner-up, with Verstappen in fourth, Norris in P6, and Piastri in eighth. In the more indicative evening session of FP2, Norris was quickest from the Silver Arrows of Kimi Antonelli, with his teammate down in fourteenth; however, the practice was interrupted for nearly the final 20 minutes of track time to check a suspected unsecured manhole cover at turn 17.

This problem is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the first Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a loose drain cover smashed into Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, heavily damaging it and causing the session to be ended.

Mercedes Confirm Stake Transaction

Mercedes have confirmed that their boss the Austrian executive has sold a 15% stake in his holding company, equating to a 5% share in the squad, to US tycoon George Kurtz. Kurtz is the chief executive and creator of the digital protection firm the tech giant. Wolff will remain as team principal and may receive up to £230 million from the deal, with Mercedes having been appraised at £4.57 billion, a record for an Formula 1 constructor.