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Despite the hype surrounding the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lando Norris is maintaining a level head regarding his chances of claiming his maiden drivers' championship.

Norris currently has a 24-point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by 49 points, with just up to 83 points available across the final three races. However, after staging a remarkable comeback from 34 points behind Piastri following the Dutch Grand Prix in the summer, Norris is focused on performing with the methodical approach that lifted him to the lead of the championship.

"Things can easily turn in the other direction once more even though I hope it doesn't," he stated. "That's racing, as we all know. Sometimes you get lucky. You can also be unlucky. Whatever it may be. It's not worth becoming overjoyed or dwelling on it. I continue to do see it as a goal that's quite distant."

The 26-year-old has discovered his best form at a crucial juncture—having struggled with the vehicle in the opening half of the campaign—at the same time that Piastri has shed the disciplined, almost flawless ease that previously made him seem to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris kept a remarkable level of composure all along, insisting despite setbacks—such as his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would adhere to his gameplan and work each session with the identical unwavering focus on specifics. This approach has yielded results.

All the while, McLaren have worked hard to attempt to preserve a level playing field for their pair of racers, and it has at times been a rather difficult experience, especially at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad instructed Piastri to cede second place to Norris after he had fallen behind because of a delayed tire change. Certain spectators were unhappy with what was considered McLaren unnecessarily manipulating their drivers.

The championship leader has won the last two grands prix, in Mexico City and Brazil, and was booed on the podium at both, leaving him unfazed. "Once you are on top, many individuals want to undermine you. They do not want to see you winning. I see it as a positive sign," he said.

"It just amuses me. While standing on the winner's stage in Brazil, I really enjoyed it. The experience was quite satisfying. At last you feel like you're doing success.

"I don't mind, as long as I win. As long as I believe I am competing the right way, which I feel like I am, so long as I am confident I am dedicating effort into remaining true to myself and those kinds of things, then I am not concerned about the rest of it."

Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be mastered, and it is a circuit ideal for the British team. It shares similarities with Montreal and Baku: low downforce, cool temperatures, and slippery surfaces. These are the sole pair of circuits in the current championship where McLaren have failed to secure a single top-three finish, and the leader was circumspect once more about their prospects this weekend. Yet, his objective in the short term is simple: finish in front of his teammate and the points he needs will come.

Friday Running Shows Mixed Results for Championship Contenders

Charles Leclerc led the leaderboard in FP1 on what was still a dusty and extremely low-grip track. The Williams racer was second, with Verstappen fourth, Norris sixth, and the Australian eighth. In the more representative night running of second practice, Norris was fastest from the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with his teammate 14th; though, the session was interrupted for almost all of the last third of running to check a reported loose manhole cover at the penultimate corner.

This problem is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the first Nevada GP held in 2023, a dislodged manhole smashed into the Ferrari, heavily harming it and leading to the practice to be aborted.

Mercedes Confirm Ownership Sale

The eight-time constructors' champions have confirmed that their boss the Austrian executive has sold a 15% stake in his holding company, representing a five percent ownership in the squad, to US tycoon the cybersecurity magnate. Kurtz is the CEO and founder of the digital protection firm the tech giant. The team principal will stay on as boss and could earn up to £230 million from the sale, with Mercedes having been appraised at £4.57bn, a new high for an F1 team.