🔗 Share this article

Amid all hype around the Sin City Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is keeping a calm demeanor regarding his chances of claiming his maiden world title.

Norris currently holds a 24-point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by 49 points, with only a maximum of 83 points up for grabs across the final three events. But, after pulling off a remarkable recovery from a significant deficit his teammate after the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Norris is concentrating on executing with the methodical approach that propelled him to the lead of the championship.

"It can easily go the opposite way 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 getting excited or thinking about it. I still do see it as something that's quite distant."

Norris has found his peak performance at a crucial juncture—having struggled with the car in the first part of the season—while his teammate has shed the controlled, nearly perfect composure that previously made him appear to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris maintained a remarkable level of equanimity all along, insisting despite setbacks—like his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his strategy and approach every outing with the same unwavering focus on specifics. It has yielded results.

Meanwhile, McLaren have worked hard to try to maintain 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 team instructed the Australian to cede the runner-up spot to his teammate following he had lost the spot due to a slow pit stop. Certain spectators were unhappy with what was considered the team needlessly interfering with their competitors.

The championship leader has claimed victory in the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico City and São Paulo, and was jeered on the podium at both, yet he remained unmoved. "When you're leading, a lot of people try to undermine you. They don't want to see you winning. I consider it a good thing," he said.

"It just makes me laugh. While standing on the podium in Interlagos, I truly loved it. The experience was very enjoyable. You finally feel like you are achieving something right.

"It doesn't bother me, provided that I win. As long as I believe I am competing the correct manner, which I feel like that's the case, as long as I am confident I'm putting effort into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I'm not too fussed with the rest of it."

Las Vegas, meanwhile, must be conquered, and it is a circuit suited to the McLaren. It shares characteristics with Montreal and Baku: low downforce, chilly conditions, and slippery surfaces. They are the only two tracks in the current championship where the papaya squad have failed to claim at least one podium place, and Norris was cautious once more about their prospects in Nevada. Still, his objective in the short term is simple: finish in ahead of his teammate and the points he requires will come.

Practice Sees Mixed Results for Championship Contenders

Charles Leclerc led the times in FP1 on what was remained a sandy and very slippery track. The Williams racer was runner-up, with Verstappen fourth, the McLaren ace in P6, and Piastri eighth. During the more indicative evening session of FP2, the Briton was fastest ahead of the Silver Arrows of Kimi Antonelli, with his teammate 14th; however, the practice lost nearly the last third of running to check a reported unsecured manhole cover at the penultimate corner.

This problem is taken seriously on a street circuit where, at the first Las Vegas GP held in 2023, a loose drain cover smashed into the Ferrari, heavily damaging it and causing the session to be aborted.

Mercedes Confirm Stake Transaction

Mercedes have confirmed that their team principal the Austrian executive has sold a fifteen percent share in his holding company, representing a five percent ownership in the team, to US tycoon George Kurtz. The investor is the CEO and founder of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. Wolff will stay on as boss and may receive up to £230 million from the sale, with the Brackley-based outfit having been appraised at £4.57 billion, a new high for an Formula 1 constructor.