🔗 Share this article

Amid the hype around the Sin City Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is keeping a calm demeanor about his prospects of securing his maiden drivers' championship.

The British driver currently has a 24-point lead over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by 49 points, with just a maximum of 83 points available across the final three races. But, after pulling off a extraordinary comeback from a significant deficit his teammate after the Dutch Grand Prix in the summer, Norris is focused on executing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the lead of the championship.

"Things can easily go the opposite way once more as much as I don't want it to," he stated. "That's motorsport, you know. Sometimes you also have luck. You can also be unfortunate. Whatever it may be. It's not worth getting excited or dwelling on it. I continue to view it as something that's quite far away."

The 26-year-old has discovered his peak performance at a crucial juncture—after difficulties with the car in the opening half of the campaign—at the same time that Piastri has lost the controlled, almost perfect ease that had for so long made him appear to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris maintained a remarkable level of composure all along, asserting despite setbacks—like his retirement from the Zandvoort race—that he would stick to his gameplan and work each session with the identical unwavering attention to detail. It has paid off.

All the while, the team have gone to no little effort 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 Monza when the team directed Piastri to cede second place to his teammate following he had fallen behind because of a delayed tire change. Some fans did not take well to what was considered McLaren needlessly manipulating their drivers.

The championship leader has won the last two grands prix, in Mexico City and São Paulo, and was booed on the podium at each, yet he remained unmoved. "Once you are on top, a lot of people want to bring you down. They don't like seeing you succeeding. I consider it a positive sign," he remarked.

"It just makes me laugh. When I was on the podium in Interlagos, I truly enjoyed it. The experience was quite enjoyable. You finally sense that you're doing success.

"I don't mind, as long as I come out on top. If I feel like I am competing the correct way, and I think I am, so long as I feel like I am dedicating hard work into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I am not concerned about external opinions."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, must be conquered, and it is a circuit suited to the British team. The layout has similarities with Montreal and Azerbaijan: low downforce, chilly conditions, and low grip. These are the sole pair of circuits this season where the papaya squad have failed to secure at least one top-three finish, and Norris was cautious once more about their chances this weekend. Still, his task in the short term is simple: finish in front of Piastri and the championship tally he requires will follow.

Practice Shows Mixed Outcomes for Title Rivals

The Ferrari driver led the leaderboard in FP1 on what was remained a sandy and extremely slippery track. Alex Albon was runner-up, with Verstappen fourth, Norris sixth, and Piastri in eighth. In the more indicative evening session of second practice, the Briton was quickest ahead of the Silver Arrows of Kimi Antonelli, with Piastri 14th; though, the session lost almost all of the last third of track time to inspect a reported loose drain cover at turn 17.

This problem is taken seriously on a street circuit where, at the first Nevada GP held in 2023, a loose drain cover struck Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely damaging it and causing the session to be aborted.

Mercedes Confirm Ownership Transaction

The eight-time constructors' champions have revealed that their team principal Toto Wolff has divested a fifteen percent share in his holding company, equating to a five percent ownership in the team, to US tycoon George Kurtz. Kurtz is the CEO and founder of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. Wolff will remain as boss and may receive as much as £230m from the sale, with the Brackley-based outfit having been appraised at £4.57 billion, a new high for an F1 team.