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Amid all hype surrounding the Sin City Grand Prix, Lando Norris is maintaining a level head about his prospects of securing his first world title.

Norris currently holds a two-dozen point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by 49 points, with just up to 83 points up for grabs across the final three events. But, after staging a extraordinary comeback from a significant deficit Piastri after the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Norris is focused on executing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the lead of the standings.

"It can easily go in the other direction again even though I hope it doesn't," he stated. "That's racing, as we all know. You can also have luck. Other times you also be unlucky. Whatever it may be. It's no point becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I still view it as a goal that's quite distant."

Norris has found his peak performance at a critical juncture—after difficulties with the car in the first part of the season—at the same time that his teammate has lost the controlled, nearly flawless composure that had for so long made him appear to be a champion in waiting. Importantly, Norris kept a impressive level of equanimity throughout, insisting despite challenges—such as his withdrawal from the Zandvoort race—that he would stick to his gameplan and approach every outing with the identical relentless focus on specifics. This approach has paid off.

All the while, the team have worked hard to attempt to maintain a level playing field for their two drivers, and it has at times been a rather torturous experience, most notably at Monza when the squad instructed the Australian to cede the runner-up spot to his teammate after he had fallen behind due to a slow pit stop. Some fans were unhappy with what was considered McLaren unnecessarily manipulating their drivers.

The championship leader has won the previous pair of races, in Mexico City and Brazil, and was jeered on the winner's rostrum at both, leaving him unmoved. "Once you are leading, a lot of people want to bring you down. They don't want to see you succeeding. I see it as a good thing," he remarked.

"It just makes me laugh. While standing on the podium in Brazil, I truly enjoyed it. The experience was very satisfying. You finally feel like you're doing something right.

"I don't mind, provided that I win. If I believe I'm doing it the right manner, and I think I am, as long as I am confident I am dedicating effort into remaining true to myself and similar principles, then I'm not too fussed about external opinions."

Las Vegas, meanwhile, needs to be conquered, and it is a circuit suited to the McLaren. The layout has similarities with Montreal and Azerbaijan: low downforce, chilly conditions, and low grip. These are the sole pair of tracks in the current championship where McLaren have failed to secure a single top-three finish, and the leader was circumspect once more about their prospects this weekend. Yet, his task in the immediate future is simple: finish in front of his teammate and the points he needs will come.

Practice Sees Mixed Outcomes for Championship Contenders

The Ferrari driver topped the leaderboard in first practice on what was still a sandy and very slippery track. The Williams racer was runner-up, with Verstappen fourth, Norris sixth, and Piastri eighth. During the more representative evening session of second practice, the Briton was fastest ahead of the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with his teammate 14th; though, the session was interrupted for nearly the final 20 minutes of running to inspect a reported loose drain cover at the penultimate corner.

The issue is taken seriously on a street circuit where, at the inaugural Nevada GP staged in 2023, a loose drain cover smashed into the Ferrari, severely harming it and leading to the practice to be ended.

The German Team Confirm Ownership Sale

Mercedes have revealed that their team principal the Austrian executive has divested a fifteen percent share in his investment firm, equating to a five percent ownership in the team, to US tycoon George Kurtz. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the digital protection firm CrowdStrike. Wolff will stay on as team principal and could earn as much as £230m from the deal, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57bn, a new high for an F1 team.