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Despite the excitement around the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is maintaining a calm demeanor regarding his chances of claiming his first drivers' championship.

The British driver presently holds a two-dozen point advantage over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by 49 points, with only up to eighty-three points available across the remaining trio of races. But, after staging a remarkable comeback from 34 points behind his teammate after the Dutch Grand Prix in the summer, Norris is focused on executing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the top of the championship.

"Things can quickly turn in the other direction once more even though I don't want it to," he stated. "That's racing, you know. Sometimes you get lucky. Other times you also be unfortunate. Whatever it may be. There's really not worth becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I still do see it as something that's quite distant."

The 26-year-old has discovered his best form at a crucial moment—after difficulties with the car in the opening half of the season—at the same time that his teammate has lost the disciplined, nearly flawless ease that had for so long made him seem to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris kept a impressive level of equanimity throughout, asserting even in the face of setbacks—like his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would adhere to his gameplan and work every outing with the identical relentless attention to detail. It has yielded results.

All the while, the team have gone to no little effort to try to preserve a fair competition for their two drivers, and it has at times been a rather difficult process, most notably at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad directed the Australian to cede the runner-up spot to Norris after he had lost the spot because of a slow pit stop. Some fans were unhappy with what was considered McLaren needlessly interfering with their competitors.

Norris has claimed victory in the last two races, in Mexico and São Paulo, and was jeered on the podium at both, leaving him unfazed. "When you're on top, many people try to undermine you. They don't like seeing you winning. I see it as a positive sign," he said.

"It just makes me laugh. While standing on the podium in Interlagos, I really enjoyed it. It was very enjoyable. You finally sense that you're doing something right.

"I don't mind, provided that I win. If I feel like I'm doing it the correct way, which I feel like that's the case, so long as I feel like 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."

Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be conquered, and it is not a track ideal for the British team. It shares characteristics with Montreal and Baku: low downforce, cool temperatures, and low grip. They are the sole pair of tracks in the current championship where the papaya squad have failed to secure at least one top-three finish, and Norris was cautious again about their chances in Nevada. Yet, his task in the immediate future is straightforward: finish in ahead of Piastri and the championship tally he needs will follow.

Practice Shows Varied Results for Championship Rivals

Charles Leclerc led the times in first practice on what was still a dusty and extremely slippery track. Alex Albon was runner-up, with the Red Bull star in fourth, the McLaren ace sixth, and the Australian in eighth. During the more representative night running of second practice, the Briton was quickest ahead of the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with his teammate down in fourteenth; however, the practice was interrupted for nearly the final 20 minutes of track time to check a reported loose manhole 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 manhole struck the Ferrari, severely harming it and causing the practice to be ended.

Mercedes Announce Stake Sale

The eight-time constructors' champions have confirmed that their team principal Toto Wolff has divested a fifteen percent share in his investment firm, equating to a five percent ownership in the team, to US tycoon George Kurtz. Kurtz is the CEO and founder of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. The team principal will stay on as boss and may receive up to £230m from the deal, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57bn, a record for an F1 team.