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Amid the hype surrounding the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lando Norris is keeping a calm demeanor regarding his prospects of claiming his first drivers' championship.

The British driver presently holds a two-dozen point lead over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by 49 points, with only a maximum of 83 points up for grabs across the final three events. But, after staging a remarkable recovery from a significant deficit his teammate following the Dutch Grand Prix in the summer, Norris is focused on executing with the clinical precision that propelled him to the top of the standings.

"It can quickly go in the other direction again as much as I don't want it to," he stated. "That's motorsport, you know. You can also have luck. Other times you end up unlucky. No matter what happens. There's really no point becoming overjoyed or dwelling on it. I still do see it as a goal that's quite distant."

The 26-year-old has discovered his peak performance at a crucial juncture—having struggled with the vehicle in the first part of the season—at the same time that Piastri has shed the controlled, almost perfect composure that had for so long made him seem to be a champion in waiting. Notably, Norris kept a impressive level of equanimity all along, insisting despite setbacks—like his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his strategy and work each session with the same unwavering focus on specifics. It has yielded results.

Meanwhile, the team have worked hard to try to maintain a fair competition for their pair of racers, and it has at times been something of difficult experience, most notably at the Italian Grand Prix when the team directed Piastri to cede the runner-up spot to Norris after he had lost the spot because of a delayed tire change. Certain spectators were unhappy with what was seen as the team unnecessarily manipulating their competitors.

Norris has claimed victory in the previous pair of races, in Mexico City and Brazil, and was booed on the podium at both, yet he remained unmoved. "When you're on top, many individuals want to undermine you. They don't want to see you winning. I see it as a positive sign," he remarked.

"It amuses me. When I was on the podium in Brazil, I really loved it. The experience was very satisfying. You finally feel like you are achieving something right.

"It doesn't bother me, as long as I come out on top. As long as I believe I am competing the right way, and I think that's the case, as long as I feel like I'm putting hard work into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I'm not too fussed with the rest of it."

Vegas, meanwhile, must be mastered, and it is not a track suited to the British team. The layout has similarities with Canada and Baku: minimal aerodynamic grip, cool temperatures, and low grip. They are the only two tracks this season where McLaren have been unable 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 straightforward: end the race in ahead of Piastri and the championship tally he requires will follow.

Practice Shows Varied Outcomes for Title Rivals

Charles Leclerc topped the times in FP1 on what was still a sandy and very low-grip surface. Alex Albon was second, with Verstappen fourth, Norris sixth, and the Australian in eighth. During the more indicative evening session of FP2, Norris was fastest from the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, with Piastri 14th; however, the session lost nearly the final 20 minutes of track time to check a suspected unsecured manhole cover at the penultimate corner.

The issue is treated with caution on a street circuit where, at the inaugural Las Vegas GP held in 2023, a dislodged drain cover struck Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely harming it and causing the session to be aborted.

The German Team Confirm Stake Sale

Mercedes have revealed that their boss Toto Wolff has sold a 15% stake in his holding company, representing a 5% share in the team, to US tycoon George Kurtz. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the digital protection firm CrowdStrike. The team principal will stay on as team principal and may receive as much as £230m from the deal, with the Brackley-based outfit having been appraised at £4.57bn, a new high for an Formula 1 constructor.