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

The British driver currently holds a two-dozen point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by 49 points, with just a maximum of eighty-three points available across the final three events. But, after pulling off a remarkable recovery from a significant deficit Piastri following the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is concentrating on executing with the methodical approach that propelled him to the lead of the championship.

"Things can quickly turn the opposite way once more as much as I hope it doesn't," he commented. "That's motorsport, you know. Sometimes you get lucky. You can end up unlucky. No matter what happens. There's really not worth getting excited or thinking about it. I continue to view it as something that's quite far away."

Norris has found his best form at a critical juncture—after difficulties with the vehicle in the opening half of the season—while Piastri has shed the disciplined, nearly flawless ease that had for so long made him appear to be a champion in waiting. Notably, Norris maintained a impressive level of composure all along, insisting despite setbacks—like his retirement from the Zandvoort race—that he would adhere to his gameplan and work each session with the same relentless attention to detail. It has yielded results.

All the while, McLaren have gone to no little effort to attempt to maintain a fair competition for their pair of racers, and it has at times been something of torturous experience, most notably at Monza when the team instructed Piastri to surrender second place to Norris after he had lost the spot because of a delayed tire change. Some fans were unhappy with what was seen as the team unnecessarily interfering with their drivers.

Norris has won the last two grands prix, in Mexico City and São Paulo, and was booed on the podium at both, yet he remained unfazed. "When you're on top, a lot of people want to undermine you. They do not like seeing you winning. I consider it a good thing," he said.

"It just amuses me. When I was on the winner's stage in Interlagos, I truly enjoyed it. The experience was very enjoyable. You finally feel like you're doing something right.

"It doesn't bother me, as long as I come out on top. If I feel like I am competing the right way, which I feel like that's the case, 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 mastered, and it is a circuit suited to the McLaren. It shares similarities with Canada and Baku: minimal aerodynamic grip, chilly conditions, and slippery surfaces. They are the sole pair of circuits this season where the papaya squad have failed to claim a single podium place, and Norris was cautious again about their chances in Nevada. Yet, his objective in the immediate future is simple: end the race in front of Piastri and the points he requires will come.

Practice Shows Mixed Results for Title Contenders

The Ferrari driver topped the leaderboard in first practice on what was still a sandy and extremely slippery surface. The Williams racer was second, with the Red Bull star fourth, Norris sixth, and Piastri in eighth. In the more representative evening session of FP2, Norris was fastest ahead of the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with Piastri 14th; though, the practice was interrupted for almost all of the last third of track time to check a suspected loose drain cover at turn 17.

The issue is taken seriously on a temporary track where, at the first Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a loose drain cover struck Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely damaging it and causing the session to be ended.

Mercedes Confirm Stake Sale

The eight-time constructors' champions have revealed that their boss the Austrian executive has divested a fifteen percent share in his holding company, representing a five percent ownership in the squad, to US tycoon George Kurtz. The investor is the CEO and founder of the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. Wolff will stay on as team principal and could earn up to £230 million from the sale, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57bn, a record for an Formula 1 constructor.