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Despite all excitement around the Sin City Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is maintaining a level head about his chances of securing his first drivers' championship.

The British driver presently holds a 24-point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with only a maximum of 83 points available across the final three races. But, after pulling off a remarkable recovery from a significant deficit Piastri following the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Norris is concentrating on executing with the methodical approach that propelled him to the lead of the standings.

"It can quickly go the opposite way once more even though I don't want it to," he stated. "That's motorsport, as we all know. Sometimes you also have luck. You can also be unfortunate. No matter what happens. It's not worth becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I continue to view it as a goal that's quite distant."

Norris has discovered his peak performance at a crucial moment—having struggled with the car in the opening half of the season—while his teammate has shed the disciplined, nearly perfect composure that previously made him appear to be a champion in waiting. Notably, Norris kept a remarkable level of composure all along, insisting despite challenges—like his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would adhere to his strategy and approach each session with the same relentless focus on specifics. This approach has yielded results.

All the while, McLaren have worked hard to attempt to preserve a fair competition for their two drivers, and it has on occasion been something of difficult experience, especially at the Italian Grand Prix when the team instructed the Australian to surrender the runner-up spot to Norris after he had fallen behind because of a slow pit stop. Certain spectators did not take well to what was seen as McLaren unnecessarily manipulating their drivers.

Norris has claimed victory in the last two grands prix, in Mexico and São Paulo, and was booed on the podium at both, yet he remained unmoved. "Once you are on top, many people try to bring you down. They don't want to see you succeeding. 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 enjoyed it. It was quite enjoyable. You finally feel like you are achieving something right.

"I don't mind, as long as I come out on top. As long as I feel like I'm doing it the right manner, which I feel like I am, as long as I feel like I am dedicating effort into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I'm not too fussed about the rest of it."

Vegas, meanwhile, needs to be conquered, and it is a circuit suited to the McLaren. The layout has similarities with Montreal and Azerbaijan: minimal aerodynamic grip, cool temperatures, and slippery surfaces. These are the only two tracks in the current championship where McLaren have been unable to claim a single podium place, and the leader was circumspect again about their prospects this weekend. Yet, his task in the short term is simple: end the race in front of Piastri and the championship tally he needs will come.

Practice Sees Mixed Results for Championship Rivals

The Ferrari driver topped the leaderboard in FP1 on what was remained a dusty and very slippery track. The Williams racer was runner-up, with Verstappen in fourth, Norris sixth, and Piastri eighth. During the more indicative night running of second practice, Norris was quickest from the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, with Piastri down in fourteenth; though, the practice lost nearly the final 20 minutes of track time to inspect a suspected unsecured drain cover at turn 17.

This problem is treated with caution on a street circuit where, at the inaugural Nevada GP held in 2023, a loose manhole struck the Ferrari, severely harming it and leading to the practice to be ended.

Mercedes Announce Stake Transaction

Mercedes have confirmed that their boss Toto Wolff has divested a 15% stake in his investment firm, representing a 5% share in the squad, to American billionaire the cybersecurity magnate. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. Wolff will stay on as team principal and may receive as much as £230 million from the deal, with the Brackley-based outfit having been valued at £4.57bn, a record for an F1 team.