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Despite the hype around the Sin City Grand Prix, Lando Norris is keeping a level head regarding his chances of claiming his maiden drivers' championship.

The British driver presently has a two-dozen point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with just up to eighty-three points available across the final three events. However, after pulling off a extraordinary recovery from a significant deficit Piastri after the Zandvoort race in August, Norris is focused on executing with the methodical approach that lifted him to the lead of the championship.

"It can quickly go the opposite way once more even though I hope it doesn't," he stated. "That's motorsport, as we all know. You can get lucky. You can end up unlucky. Whatever it may be. It's no point getting excited or dwelling on it. I still do see it as something that's quite far away."

Norris has found his peak performance at a critical moment—after difficulties with the vehicle in the opening half of the campaign—at the same time that Piastri has shed the controlled, almost perfect ease that previously made him seem to be a champion in waiting. Importantly, Norris maintained a remarkable level of composure all along, insisting despite challenges—such as his withdrawal from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his strategy and approach every outing with the same unwavering attention to detail. It has yielded results.

Meanwhile, the team have gone to no little effort to attempt to preserve a fair competition for their pair of racers, and it has at times been a rather difficult process, especially at Monza when the squad instructed Piastri to cede second place to his teammate following he had fallen behind due to a slow pit stop. Some fans did not take well to what was considered the team unnecessarily manipulating their drivers.

Norris has claimed victory in the last two grands prix, in Mexico City and São Paulo, and was jeered on the podium at each, leaving him unmoved. "Once you are on top, a lot of people try to undermine you. They don't want to see you winning. I see it as a positive sign," he remarked.

"It just makes me laugh. While standing on the winner's stage in Interlagos, I truly loved it. The experience was very enjoyable. You finally sense that you're doing something right.

"I don't mind, as long as I come out on top. If I believe I'm doing it the right manner, and I think that's the case, so long as I am confident I am dedicating hard work into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I'm not too fussed with the rest of it."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be mastered, and it is not a track ideal for the McLaren. The layout has similarities with Montreal and Baku: minimal aerodynamic grip, chilly conditions, and slippery surfaces. These are the sole pair of circuits in the current championship where the papaya squad have been unable to secure a single podium place, and the leader was circumspect once more about their chances this weekend. Yet, his task in the immediate future is simple: finish in ahead of Piastri and the points he requires will follow.

Practice Shows Varied Outcomes for Championship Contenders

Charles Leclerc topped the times in first practice on what was remained a sandy and extremely low-grip track. Alex Albon was runner-up, with the Red Bull star fourth, Norris sixth, and Piastri in eighth. During the more representative night running of second practice, the Briton was quickest from the Mercedes of the Italian rookie, with Piastri 14th; however, the practice lost nearly the last third of track time to inspect a suspected unsecured drain cover at turn 17.

This problem is taken seriously on a street circuit where, at the first Nevada GP staged in 2023, a dislodged drain cover smashed into the Ferrari, heavily damaging it and leading to the session to be ended.

The German Team Announce Stake Sale

Mercedes have confirmed that their boss the Austrian executive has divested a 15% stake in his investment firm, representing a five percent ownership in the squad, to American billionaire the cybersecurity magnate. Kurtz is the chief executive and creator of the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. The team principal will remain as boss and may receive up to £230m from the sale, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57 billion, a record for an Formula 1 constructor.