🔗 Share this article

Despite all hype surrounding the Sin City Grand Prix, Lando Norris is keeping a calm demeanor regarding his prospects of claiming his first drivers' championship.

The British driver currently holds a 24-point lead over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with only a maximum of 83 points available across the remaining trio of events. But, after staging a remarkable recovery from 34 points behind his teammate following the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Norris is focused on executing with the methodical approach that propelled him to the lead of the standings.

"It can easily go in the other direction again even though I hope it doesn't," he commented. "That's racing, as we all know. Sometimes you get lucky. You can also be unfortunate. No matter what happens. There's really not worth becoming overjoyed or dwelling on it. I still view it as a goal that's quite distant."

Norris has discovered his best form at a crucial juncture—having struggled with the car in the opening half of the campaign—while his teammate has shed the disciplined, nearly flawless ease that had for so long made him appear to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris maintained a remarkable level of equanimity all along, insisting despite challenges—such as his retirement from the Zandvoort race—that he would stick to his strategy and approach each session with the same unwavering focus on specifics. This approach has paid off.

All the while, McLaren have worked hard to attempt to maintain a fair competition for their pair of racers, and it has at times been a rather torturous experience, most notably at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad instructed the Australian to cede second place to Norris following he had fallen behind because of a delayed tire change. Some fans were unhappy with what was seen as McLaren needlessly manipulating their drivers.

The championship leader has won the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico City and Brazil, and was booed on the winner's rostrum at both, leaving him unfazed. "When you're leading, a lot of people try to bring you down. They do not like seeing you winning. I consider it a positive sign," he said.

"It just makes me laugh. While standing on the podium in Interlagos, I really enjoyed it. It was quite enjoyable. At last you feel like 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, and I think that's the case, so long as I am confident I am dedicating effort into remaining true to myself and those kinds of things, then I'm not too fussed with the rest of it."

Las Vegas, meanwhile, must be conquered, and it is not a track ideal for the McLaren. The layout has characteristics with Montreal and Baku: minimal aerodynamic grip, chilly conditions, and low grip. They are the sole pair of circuits in the current championship where the papaya squad have failed to secure a single podium place, and Norris was circumspect again about their chances this weekend. Yet, his objective in the short term is straightforward: end the race in ahead of his teammate and the points he needs will follow.

Friday Running Sees Varied Outcomes for Championship Rivals

The Ferrari driver led the times in FP1 on what was remained a sandy and very low-grip track. The Williams racer was second, with the Red Bull star in fourth, the McLaren ace in P6, and the Australian in eighth. In the more indicative night running of FP2, Norris was fastest ahead of the Mercedes of the Italian rookie, with his teammate 14th; though, the session lost nearly the last third of track time to check a reported unsecured manhole cover at turn 17.

This problem is taken seriously on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a loose manhole struck the Ferrari, heavily harming it and leading to the session to be aborted.

The German Team Announce Ownership Transaction

The eight-time constructors' champions have revealed that their team principal Toto Wolff has divested a 15% stake in his holding company, equating to a 5% share in the squad, to US tycoon George Kurtz. Kurtz is the chief executive and creator of the digital protection firm CrowdStrike. Wolff will stay on as team principal and could earn up to £230 million from the deal, with Mercedes having been appraised at £4.57bn, a record for an F1 team.