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Despite all hype surrounding the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is maintaining a level head regarding his prospects of claiming his maiden world title.

The British driver presently has a two-dozen point lead over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with just up to 83 points up for grabs across the final three races. But, after pulling off a extraordinary comeback from a significant deficit his teammate after the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is concentrating on executing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the lead of the championship.

"It can quickly go the opposite way again as much as I don't want it to," he stated. "That's racing, you know. You can also have luck. Other times you also be unlucky. Whatever it may be. There's really no point getting excited or dwelling on it. I continue to do see it as a goal that's quite far away."

Norris has found his best form at a critical juncture—having struggled with the vehicle in the opening half of the season—while Piastri has lost the disciplined, almost perfect composure that previously made him appear to be a champion in waiting. Importantly, Norris maintained a impressive level of composure throughout, insisting even in the face of setbacks—such as his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his strategy and approach every outing with the same unwavering attention to detail. It has yielded results.

Meanwhile, the team have gone to no little effort to try to maintain a level playing field for their pair of racers, and it has at times been something of difficult experience, most notably at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad directed Piastri to cede second place to his teammate after he had fallen behind due to a delayed tire change. Some fans were unhappy with what was considered the team unnecessarily manipulating their competitors.

Norris has won the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico City and São Paulo, and was jeered on the winner's rostrum at each, yet he remained unfazed. "Once you are on top, a lot of individuals want to bring you down. 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 quite enjoyable. At last you sense that you are achieving something right.

"I don't mind, as long as I win. If I feel like I'm doing it the correct manner, and I think I am, so long as I am confident I'm putting hard work into remaining true to myself and those kinds of things, then I'm not too fussed with external opinions."

Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be conquered, and it is not a track ideal for the British team. The layout has similarities with Canada and Azerbaijan: low downforce, cool temperatures, and low grip. They are the only two tracks this season where the papaya squad have failed to secure at least one top-three finish, and the leader was cautious again about their prospects this weekend. Still, his objective in the short term is straightforward: finish in front of his teammate and the championship tally he needs will follow.

Practice Shows Mixed Results for Title Contenders

The Ferrari driver topped the times in first practice on what was still a sandy and extremely slippery surface. Alex Albon was runner-up, with the Red Bull star in fourth, Norris in P6, and Piastri in eighth. During the more indicative evening session of second practice, Norris was quickest ahead of the Mercedes of the Italian rookie, with Piastri down in fourteenth; however, the session lost nearly the final 20 minutes of running to inspect a reported loose drain cover at turn 17.

This problem is taken seriously on a street circuit where, at the inaugural Nevada GP held in 2023, a loose drain cover smashed into the Ferrari, severely damaging it and leading to the session to be aborted.

Mercedes Announce Ownership Sale

The eight-time constructors' champions have revealed that their boss Toto Wolff has sold a fifteen percent share in his investment firm, representing a five percent ownership in the team, to American billionaire George Kurtz. Kurtz is the chief executive and creator of the digital protection firm the tech giant. Wolff will remain as team principal and may receive as much as £230m from the deal, with Mercedes having been appraised at £4.57bn, a new high for an Formula 1 constructor.