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

The British driver currently holds a two-dozen point advantage over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by 49 points, with only a maximum of 83 points up for grabs across the final three events. But, after staging a remarkable recovery from a significant deficit his teammate following the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Norris is focused on executing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the top of the standings.

"Things can easily go in the other direction again as much as I hope it doesn't," he commented. "That's motorsport, you know. You can also have luck. You can end up unlucky. No matter what happens. It's no point getting excited or dwelling on it. I still do see it as something that's quite far away."

The 26-year-old has discovered his best form at a critical juncture—after difficulties with the vehicle in the opening half of the season—while Piastri has lost the controlled, almost perfect ease that previously made him seem to be a champion in waiting. 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 gameplan and approach every outing with the identical unwavering attention to detail. It has paid off.

All the while, the team have worked hard to try to maintain a level playing field for their two drivers, and it has at times been something of difficult experience, especially at Monza when the team directed Piastri to cede the runner-up spot to Norris following he had fallen behind because of a slow pit stop. Certain spectators were unhappy with what was considered the team unnecessarily interfering with their competitors.

The championship leader has won the previous pair of races, in Mexico and Brazil, and was booed on the winner's rostrum at both, leaving him unmoved. "Once you are on top, a lot of people want to bring you down. They don't want to see you succeeding. I see it as a positive sign," he said.

"It makes me laugh. When I was on the winner's stage in Brazil, I really loved it. It was very enjoyable. You finally feel like you are achieving success.

"I don't mind, as long as I win. If I believe I am competing the correct way, and I think that's the case, as long as I feel like I'm putting hard work into being who I am and similar principles, then I'm not too fussed about external opinions."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, must be mastered, and it is a circuit ideal for the McLaren. The layout has characteristics with Canada and Azerbaijan: minimal aerodynamic grip, cool temperatures, and low grip. They are the only two tracks this season where the papaya squad have been unable to secure at least one podium place, and the leader was circumspect again about their chances in Nevada. Still, his task in the immediate future is straightforward: end the race in ahead of Piastri and the points he needs will follow.

Practice Sees Mixed Results for Championship Contenders

Charles Leclerc led the leaderboard in first practice on what was remained a dusty and very low-grip surface. The Williams racer was runner-up, with Verstappen in fourth, the McLaren ace in P6, and the Australian eighth. During the more representative night running of second practice, the Briton was fastest ahead of the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, with his teammate down in fourteenth; however, the practice was interrupted for almost all of the last third of track time to check a suspected unsecured manhole cover at turn 17.

The issue is treated with caution on a street circuit where, at the inaugural Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a dislodged drain cover smashed into Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely harming it and leading to the session to be aborted.

Mercedes Confirm Ownership Transaction

The eight-time constructors' champions have revealed that their boss Toto Wolff has divested a fifteen percent share 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 CrowdStrike. The team principal will stay on as team principal and may receive up to £230m from the sale, with the Brackley-based outfit having been valued at £4.57 billion, a record for an F1 team.