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Amid all excitement around the Sin City Grand Prix, Lando Norris is keeping a calm demeanor regarding his prospects of claiming his maiden world title.

The British driver currently holds a two-dozen point lead over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with just up to eighty-three points available across the final three races. But, after pulling off a extraordinary recovery from a significant deficit Piastri after the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Norris is concentrating on performing with the methodical approach that lifted him to the top of the standings.

"Things can easily go 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 end up unlucky. Whatever it may be. There's really no point becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I still do see it as something that's quite distant."

The 26-year-old has found his peak performance at a crucial juncture—after difficulties with the vehicle in the first part of the season—while Piastri has lost the controlled, almost perfect composure that had for so long made him appear to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris kept a remarkable level of equanimity all along, insisting despite challenges—such as his withdrawal from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his gameplan and work each session with the identical relentless focus on specifics. It has paid off.

Meanwhile, the team have worked hard to try to preserve a fair competition for their two drivers, and it has on occasion been a rather torturous process, most notably at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad directed Piastri to cede second place to Norris after he had lost the spot due to a delayed tire change. Some fans were unhappy with what was considered the team unnecessarily interfering with their competitors.

Norris has won the last two races, in Mexico City and São Paulo, and was booed on the winner's rostrum at each, leaving him unfazed. "When you're on top, many individuals want to bring you down. They don't like seeing you winning. I see it as a good thing," he remarked.

"It just amuses me. While standing on the podium in Brazil, I really enjoyed it. The experience was very enjoyable. You finally feel like you're doing success.

"It doesn't bother me, as long as I come out on top. As long as I feel like I'm doing it the right manner, and I think I am, as long as I am confident I'm putting hard work into being who I am 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 not a track suited to the British team. The layout has similarities 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 claim at least one top-three finish, and Norris was circumspect again about their chances this weekend. Yet, his task in the short term is simple: end the race in ahead of Piastri and the points he needs will come.

Practice Sees Mixed Results for Title Contenders

Charles Leclerc topped the leaderboard in FP1 on what was still a sandy and extremely slippery track. Alex Albon was runner-up, with the Red Bull star in fourth, the McLaren ace sixth, and Piastri eighth. During the more representative night running of second practice, the Briton was fastest ahead of the Silver Arrows of Kimi Antonelli, with Piastri 14th; though, the practice was interrupted for almost all of the final 20 minutes of track time to inspect a suspected loose manhole cover at turn 17.

The issue is taken seriously on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Nevada GP held in 2023, a dislodged drain cover struck Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely damaging it and leading to the practice to be aborted.

Mercedes Confirm Stake Transaction

Mercedes have revealed that their team principal the Austrian executive has divested a 15% stake in his holding company, representing a 5% share in the team, to US tycoon George Kurtz. The investor is the CEO and founder of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. The team principal will stay on as team principal and may receive as much as £230 million from the deal, with Mercedes having been appraised at £4.57bn, a record for an Formula 1 constructor.