🔗 Share this article

Despite the excitement around the Sin City Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is keeping a level head about his chances of securing his first world title.

The British driver currently has a 24-point lead over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with just up to eighty-three points up for grabs across the final three events. However, after staging a extraordinary recovery from 34 points behind Piastri following the Dutch Grand Prix in the summer, Norris is concentrating on performing with the clinical precision that propelled him to the lead of the championship.

"It can quickly turn in the other direction once more as much as I don't want it to," he commented. "That's racing, you know. Sometimes you also have luck. You can end up unlucky. Whatever it may be. It's no point getting excited or thinking about it. I continue to do see it as a goal that remains far away."

Norris has found his peak performance at a crucial moment—after difficulties with the car in the opening half of the season—while Piastri has shed the disciplined, almost flawless composure that previously made him appear to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris maintained a remarkable level of composure throughout, asserting even in the face of challenges—like his withdrawal from the Zandvoort race—that he would adhere to his gameplan and work each session with the identical unwavering focus on specifics. It has paid off.

Meanwhile, the team have gone to no little effort to try to preserve a level playing field for their pair of racers, and it has on occasion been something of difficult process, most notably at Monza when the team instructed Piastri to cede the runner-up spot to his teammate after he had fallen behind due to a delayed tire change. Some fans did not take well to what was considered McLaren needlessly interfering with their competitors.

Norris has claimed victory in the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico City and Brazil, and was jeered on the podium at each, yet he remained unmoved. "Once you are leading, many people want to bring you down. They don't want to see you winning. I see it as a good thing," he said.

"It just makes me laugh. When I was on the winner's stage in Interlagos, I truly loved it. The experience was very satisfying. At last you feel like you are achieving success.

"I don't mind, as long as I come out on top. If I believe I am competing the right way, which I feel like that's the case, so long as I feel like I am dedicating effort into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I'm not too fussed about external opinions."

Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be conquered, and it is not a track suited to the McLaren. It shares characteristics with Montreal and Azerbaijan: minimal aerodynamic grip, chilly conditions, and low grip. They are the sole pair of tracks in the current championship where the papaya squad have failed to claim at least one top-three finish, and the leader was cautious again about their chances in Nevada. Yet, his objective in the short term is simple: finish in front of his teammate and the points he requires will follow.

Practice Sees Mixed Outcomes for Title Contenders

The Ferrari driver led the leaderboard in first practice on what was still a sandy and very slippery track. Alex Albon was runner-up, with Verstappen fourth, the McLaren ace sixth, and Piastri in eighth. During the more representative night running of FP2, the Briton was quickest ahead of the Silver Arrows of Kimi Antonelli, with Piastri down in fourteenth; however, the practice was interrupted for nearly the final 20 minutes of running to inspect a suspected loose manhole cover at turn 17.

This problem is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a dislodged drain cover smashed into Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely damaging it and leading to the session to be ended.

The German Team Announce Stake Sale

Mercedes have confirmed that their boss Toto Wolff has sold a 15% stake in his investment firm, equating to a five percent ownership in the squad, to American billionaire the cybersecurity magnate. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the digital protection firm the tech giant. The team principal will remain as team principal and could earn as much as £230 million from the sale, with the Brackley-based outfit having been valued at £4.57bn, a new high for an Formula 1 constructor.