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Amid all hype surrounding the Sin City Grand Prix, Lando Norris is keeping a calm demeanor regarding his chances of claiming his first world title.

The British driver currently has a two-dozen point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with just a maximum of eighty-three points available across the final three races. But, after staging a extraordinary recovery from 34 points behind Piastri after the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is concentrating on performing with the clinical precision that propelled him to the lead of the standings.

"Things can easily go in the other direction again even though I don't want it to," he stated. "That's motorsport, you know. Sometimes you also have luck. You can also be unlucky. Whatever it may be. There's really not worth becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I still view it as a goal that remains distant."

Norris has found his peak performance at a crucial moment—having struggled with the car in the first part of the campaign—while his teammate has shed the disciplined, almost flawless composure that had for so long made him appear to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris maintained a remarkable level of equanimity all along, asserting even in the face of setbacks—such as his retirement from the Zandvoort race—that he would adhere to his gameplan and approach each session with the same unwavering attention to detail. It has yielded results.

Meanwhile, McLaren have worked hard to try to preserve a level playing field for their two drivers, and it has on occasion been a rather torturous process, most notably at Monza when the team instructed Piastri to surrender the runner-up spot to Norris following he had lost the spot due to a delayed tire change. Certain spectators did not take well to what was considered the team needlessly interfering with their competitors.

Norris has claimed victory in the previous pair of races, in Mexico and São Paulo, and was booed on the winner's rostrum at both, leaving him unmoved. "When you're on top, many individuals want to bring you down. They do not like seeing you succeeding. I see it as a positive sign," he said.

"It just makes me laugh. While standing on the winner's stage in Interlagos, I truly loved it. It was very satisfying. You finally sense that you are achieving something right.

"It doesn't bother me, provided that I come out on top. As long as I feel like I'm doing it the right way, and I think that's the case, so long as I feel like I'm putting 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 not a track ideal for the McLaren. It shares characteristics with Canada and Baku: low downforce, chilly conditions, and low grip. They are the only two tracks this season where the papaya squad have been unable to secure a single podium place, and the leader was cautious once more about their prospects in Nevada. Still, his task 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

The Ferrari driver led the times in first practice on what was remained a sandy and extremely slippery surface. Alex Albon was second, with Verstappen in fourth, Norris sixth, and Piastri eighth. In the more representative evening session of second practice, Norris was quickest from the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with his teammate down in fourteenth; however, the session lost nearly the last third of track time to check a reported loose drain cover at turn 17.

This problem is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a dislodged drain cover smashed into the Ferrari, severely harming it and causing the practice to be ended.

Mercedes Confirm Stake Transaction

Mercedes have revealed that their boss Toto Wolff has divested a 15% stake in his holding company, equating to a 5% share in the squad, to US tycoon the cybersecurity magnate. Kurtz is the chief executive and creator of the digital protection firm the tech giant. Wolff will stay on as team principal and could earn as much as £230m from the deal, with Mercedes having been appraised at £4.57bn, a new high for an Formula 1 constructor.