🔗 Share this article

Amid all hype surrounding the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lando Norris is maintaining a calm demeanor regarding his chances of securing 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 49 points, with only a maximum of 83 points available across the final three events. But, after staging a extraordinary recovery from a significant deficit Piastri after the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is concentrating on performing with the methodical approach that lifted him to the top of the standings.

"It can easily turn in the other direction once more even though I don't want it to," he stated. "That's motorsport, you know. You can also have luck. You can end up unfortunate. Whatever it may be. It's no point becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I continue to do see it as something that remains far away."

Norris has discovered his peak performance at a crucial juncture—after difficulties with the vehicle in the first part of the campaign—while Piastri has lost the controlled, nearly flawless composure that had for so long made him seem to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris kept a remarkable level of composure throughout, insisting even in the face of challenges—like his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would adhere to his strategy and approach every outing with the same relentless focus on specifics. This approach has yielded results.

Meanwhile, the team have worked hard to attempt to preserve a fair competition for their two drivers, and it has at times been a rather torturous process, especially at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad instructed the Australian to surrender the runner-up spot to Norris following he had lost the spot due to a delayed tire change. Certain spectators were unhappy with what was considered McLaren unnecessarily interfering with their drivers.

The championship leader has claimed victory in the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico City and São Paulo, and was booed on the podium at both, leaving him unmoved. "Once you are on top, many people want to undermine you. They do not like seeing you winning. I see it as a good thing," he said.

"It makes me laugh. When I was on the winner's stage in Brazil, I truly loved it. The experience was quite enjoyable. You finally sense that you're doing something right.

"I don't mind, as long as I win. As long as I believe I'm doing it the right way, which I feel like that's the case, as long as I am confident I'm putting effort into remaining true to myself and similar principles, then I am not concerned about external opinions."

Las Vegas, meanwhile, must be mastered, and it is not a track suited to the British team. It shares characteristics with Canada and Baku: low downforce, chilly conditions, and low grip. These are the sole pair of circuits this season where McLaren have been unable to claim a single top-three finish, and the leader was circumspect once more about their chances in Nevada. Still, his task in the immediate future is straightforward: end the race in ahead of his teammate and the points he needs will come.

Friday Running Sees Mixed Results for Title Contenders

Charles Leclerc topped the times in first practice on what was remained a sandy and very slippery surface. The Williams racer was second, with Verstappen fourth, Norris sixth, and the Australian in eighth. In the more indicative night running of FP2, the Briton was fastest ahead of the Mercedes of the Italian rookie, with his teammate 14th; though, the practice lost almost all of the last third of running to check a reported loose drain cover at the penultimate corner.

This problem is taken seriously on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a loose manhole smashed into Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely harming it and leading to the practice to be ended.

The German Team Confirm Stake Transaction

The eight-time constructors' champions have revealed that their team principal Toto Wolff has divested a fifteen percent share in his investment firm, representing a 5% share in the team, to American billionaire George Kurtz. Kurtz is the CEO and founder of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. The team principal will stay on as team principal and could earn as much as £230 million from the deal, with Mercedes having been appraised at £4.57 billion, a new high for an F1 team.