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Despite all excitement around the Sin City Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is keeping a calm demeanor about his prospects of securing his first world title.

The British driver currently has a two-dozen point lead 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. But, after staging a remarkable comeback from 34 points behind his teammate after the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Norris is focused on executing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the top of the championship.

"It can quickly turn the opposite way again even though I don't want it to," he commented. "That's racing, you know. You can get lucky. You can end up unlucky. No matter what happens. There's really no point getting excited or thinking about it. I continue to view it as a goal that's quite distant."

Norris has discovered his best form at a crucial juncture—having struggled with the vehicle in the opening half of the campaign—at the same time that his teammate has lost the disciplined, nearly flawless ease that previously made him appear to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris maintained a impressive level of equanimity throughout, insisting despite setbacks—such as his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would adhere to his gameplan and approach every outing with the identical unwavering attention to detail. This approach has paid off.

Meanwhile, 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 difficult process, most notably at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad directed Piastri to cede second place to his teammate after he had fallen behind because of a slow pit stop. Certain spectators were unhappy with what was seen as McLaren unnecessarily manipulating their drivers.

Norris has won the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico City and São Paulo, and was jeered on the podium at each, yet he remained unmoved. "Once you are leading, a lot of people want to undermine you. They do not want to see you winning. I see it as a positive sign," he said.

"It makes me laugh. When I was on the winner's stage in Brazil, I really enjoyed it. The experience was very satisfying. You finally feel like you're doing success.

"I don't mind, as long as I win. As long as I feel like I am competing the right way, and I think I am, as long as I feel like I'm putting effort into remaining true to myself and those kinds of things, then I am not concerned about external opinions."

Vegas, on the other hand, must be conquered, and it is not a track ideal for the British team. The layout has characteristics with Montreal and Baku: minimal aerodynamic grip, cool temperatures, and slippery surfaces. They are the only two tracks in the current championship where McLaren have failed to claim at least one top-three finish, and Norris was circumspect once more about their prospects this weekend. Yet, his task in the short term is simple: end the race in ahead of Piastri and the points he requires will follow.

Friday Running Sees Varied Results for Championship Contenders

Charles Leclerc topped the times in FP1 on what was remained a dusty and very low-grip track. Alex Albon was runner-up, with Verstappen in fourth, Norris sixth, and Piastri eighth. During the more representative night running of FP2, Norris was quickest from the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, with Piastri down in fourteenth; though, the session lost almost all of the final 20 minutes of track time to inspect a reported unsecured drain cover at turn 17.

This problem is treated with caution on a street circuit where, at the inaugural Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a dislodged drain cover struck Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, heavily damaging it and leading to the practice to be aborted.

Mercedes Announce Stake Sale

The eight-time constructors' champions have revealed that their team principal the Austrian executive has divested a 15% stake in his holding company, representing a five percent ownership in the squad, to American billionaire George Kurtz. The investor is the CEO and founder of the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. Wolff will stay on as boss and may receive up to £230 million from the sale, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57bn, a record for an F1 team.