🔗 Share this article

Despite the hype around the Sin City Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is maintaining a level head about his chances of claiming his maiden world title.

Norris currently has a two-dozen point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with just up to eighty-three points up for grabs across the final three events. But, after pulling off a extraordinary recovery from 34 points behind his teammate after the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Norris is focused on executing with the clinical precision that propelled him to the lead of the championship.

"It can quickly turn in the other direction again even though I don't want it to," he stated. "That's racing, you know. Sometimes you get lucky. You can end up unlucky. Whatever it may be. There's really not worth becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I still view it as something that's quite distant."

Norris has discovered his peak performance at a critical juncture—after difficulties with the car in the opening half of the season—at the same time that his teammate has lost the disciplined, almost flawless composure that previously made him seem to be a champion in waiting. Notably, Norris maintained a remarkable level of composure throughout, asserting even in the face of setbacks—such as his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his gameplan and approach every outing with the same relentless focus on specifics. This approach has paid off.

Meanwhile, the team have worked hard to attempt to maintain a fair competition for their two drivers, and it has on occasion been something of difficult experience, most notably at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad directed the Australian to cede the runner-up spot to his teammate after he had fallen behind because of a delayed tire change. Some fans did not take well to what was seen as McLaren unnecessarily interfering with their drivers.

The championship leader has won the last two grands prix, in Mexico and São Paulo, and was booed on the winner's rostrum at each, yet he remained unmoved. "Once you are on top, a lot of individuals try to bring you down. They do not like seeing you succeeding. I consider it a good thing," he said.

"It just makes me laugh. While standing on the winner's stage in Brazil, I truly loved it. It was quite satisfying. You finally sense that you are achieving 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, as long as I am confident I'm putting hard work into being who I am and similar principles, then I am not concerned with the rest of it."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be mastered, and it is a circuit suited to the British team. The layout has characteristics with Montreal and Azerbaijan: minimal aerodynamic grip, chilly conditions, and slippery surfaces. These are the only two tracks in the current championship where McLaren have failed to claim at least one top-three finish, and the leader was cautious once more about their prospects in Nevada. Yet, his objective in the immediate future is simple: end the race in ahead of his teammate and the championship tally he needs will follow.

Practice Sees Mixed Outcomes for Title Rivals

The Ferrari driver topped the leaderboard in FP1 on what was still a sandy and very low-grip surface. Alex Albon was second, with Verstappen in fourth, Norris sixth, and the Australian in eighth. In the more indicative night running of second practice, Norris was quickest ahead of the Mercedes of the Italian rookie, with Piastri 14th; though, the session lost nearly the final 20 minutes of running to inspect a suspected unsecured manhole cover at turn 17.

This problem is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Nevada GP held in 2023, a dislodged drain cover smashed into Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely damaging it and leading to the practice to be ended.

The German Team Announce Ownership Transaction

Mercedes have revealed that their team principal Toto Wolff has sold a fifteen percent share in his holding company, equating to a five percent ownership in the team, to American billionaire George Kurtz. Kurtz is the chief executive and creator of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. The team principal will stay on as boss and may receive up to £230 million from the deal, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57bn, a record for an F1 team.