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Despite the hype 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 currently holds a two-dozen point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by 49 points, with only up to 83 points available across the remaining trio of events. But, after pulling off a extraordinary comeback from a significant deficit his teammate following the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is focused on performing with the clinical precision that propelled him to the top of the standings.

"Things can easily go in the other direction once more even though I hope it doesn't," he commented. "That's racing, as we all know. Sometimes you also have luck. Other times you also be unlucky. No matter what happens. It's not worth becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I still do see it as a goal that's quite distant."

The 26-year-old has found his peak performance at a critical juncture—after difficulties with the vehicle in the first part of the campaign—while his teammate has shed the controlled, almost flawless composure that previously made him seem to be a champion in waiting. Notably, Norris maintained a remarkable level of equanimity all along, insisting even in the face of challenges—like his retirement from the Zandvoort race—that he would stick to his strategy and approach each session with the same unwavering attention to detail. It has paid off.

Meanwhile, McLaren have gone to no little effort to try to maintain a level playing field for their two drivers, and it has at times been a rather difficult experience, most notably at the Italian Grand Prix when the team instructed the Australian to cede second place to his teammate after he had lost the spot due to a slow pit stop. Certain spectators did not take well to what was seen as the team needlessly manipulating their competitors.

The championship leader has claimed victory in the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico and São Paulo, and was jeered on the winner's rostrum at both, yet he remained unfazed. "Once you are leading, many people want to bring you down. They do not want to see you winning. I consider it a positive sign," he remarked.

"It makes me laugh. While standing on the winner's stage in Interlagos, I really enjoyed it. The experience was quite satisfying. You finally sense that you are achieving success.

"It doesn't bother me, as long as I come out on top. If I believe I am competing the right manner, and I think that's the case, as long as I am confident I am dedicating hard work into being who I am and similar principles, then I am not concerned with the rest of it."

Vegas, meanwhile, must be mastered, and it is a circuit suited to the McLaren. The layout has characteristics with Montreal and Azerbaijan: low downforce, cool temperatures, and low grip. They 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 chances this weekend. Still, his objective in the immediate future is simple: finish in front of Piastri and the championship tally he needs will follow.

Practice Sees Mixed Outcomes for Title Contenders

Charles Leclerc topped the times in FP1 on what was remained a dusty and extremely low-grip track. The Williams racer was runner-up, with Verstappen in fourth, the McLaren ace sixth, and Piastri in eighth. In the more indicative night running of FP2, Norris was quickest ahead of the Silver Arrows of Kimi Antonelli, with his teammate down in fourteenth; however, the practice lost almost all of the final 20 minutes of running to inspect a reported unsecured manhole cover at turn 17.

This problem is taken seriously on a temporary track where, at the first Nevada GP held in 2023, a loose manhole struck Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely damaging it and causing the practice to be ended.

Mercedes Confirm Stake Transaction

Mercedes have confirmed that their boss Toto Wolff has sold a 15% stake in his holding company, equating to a five percent ownership in the team, to American billionaire George Kurtz. The investor is the CEO and founder of the digital protection firm the tech giant. The team principal will remain as team principal and could earn up to £230m from the sale, with Mercedes having been appraised at £4.57bn, a record for an F1 team.