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Despite the excitement surrounding the Sin City Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is keeping a level head regarding his chances of claiming his maiden drivers' championship.

Norris presently holds a 24-point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by 49 points, with just a maximum of 83 points up for grabs across the final three races. But, after pulling off a remarkable comeback from 34 points behind Piastri following the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is focused on executing with the clinical precision that propelled him to the lead of the standings.

"It can easily go in the other direction once more even though I hope it doesn't," he commented. "That's racing, as we all know. You can get lucky. You can end up unfortunate. Whatever it may be. There's really no point 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 critical juncture—after difficulties with the vehicle in the opening half of the campaign—at the same time that his teammate has lost the disciplined, nearly perfect composure that had for so long made him appear to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris maintained a remarkable level of composure all along, asserting despite challenges—like his retirement from the Zandvoort race—that he would adhere to his gameplan and approach each session with the same relentless focus on specifics. 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 process, most notably at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad instructed the Australian to cede the runner-up spot to Norris after he had fallen behind due to a delayed tire change. Certain spectators did not take well to what was considered McLaren unnecessarily interfering with their drivers.

The championship leader has won 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 leading, a lot of individuals try to undermine you. They don't like seeing you succeeding. I see it as a positive sign," he remarked.

"It makes me laugh. While standing on the winner's stage in Interlagos, I really enjoyed it. It was quite enjoyable. At last you sense that you are achieving success.

"I don't mind, as long as I come out on top. If I feel like I'm doing it the correct way, which I feel like that's the case, so long as I feel like I'm putting effort into remaining true to myself and similar principles, then I'm not too fussed about external opinions."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, must be conquered, and it is a circuit ideal for the McLaren. It shares characteristics with Montreal and Azerbaijan: low downforce, cool temperatures, and low grip. These are the sole pair of circuits in the current championship where McLaren have been unable to secure at least one podium place, and the leader was cautious once more about their prospects this weekend. Yet, his task in the immediate future is simple: finish in front of Piastri and the points he requires will come.

Practice Sees Mixed Results for Title Contenders

Charles Leclerc led the times in FP1 on what was remained a dusty and very low-grip surface. The Williams racer was runner-up, with the Red Bull star fourth, Norris sixth, and Piastri in eighth. In the more representative night running of FP2, Norris was fastest from the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, with Piastri 14th; however, the practice lost almost all of the final 20 minutes of running to inspect a reported loose drain cover at turn 17.

The issue is treated with caution on a street circuit where, at the inaugural Las Vegas GP held in 2023, a dislodged manhole struck the Ferrari, severely harming it and leading to the practice to be aborted.

The German Team Confirm Ownership Sale

Mercedes have revealed that their boss the Austrian executive has sold a 15% stake in his investment firm, representing a five percent ownership in the squad, to US tycoon George Kurtz. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the digital protection firm CrowdStrike. The team principal will remain as boss and could earn up to £230 million from the deal, with the Brackley-based outfit having been valued at £4.57bn, a new high for an F1 team.