🔗 Share this article

Amid all hype surrounding the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lando Norris is maintaining a calm demeanor regarding his prospects of claiming his maiden drivers' championship.

The British driver presently holds a two-dozen point lead over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by 49 points, with only up to eighty-three points up for grabs across the remaining trio of races. However, after pulling off a extraordinary recovery from 34 points behind Piastri after the Dutch Grand Prix in the summer, Norris is focused on executing with the methodical approach that lifted him to the top of the championship.

"Things can easily turn the opposite way again as much as I don't want it to," he commented. "That's motorsport, you know. You can also have luck. You can also be unfortunate. No matter what happens. It's not worth becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I continue to view it as a goal that remains far away."

The 26-year-old has found his peak performance at a critical moment—after difficulties with the car in the first part of the season—at the same time that his teammate has shed the controlled, nearly perfect ease that previously made him seem to be a champion in waiting. Notably, Norris maintained a impressive level of equanimity throughout, asserting even in the face of setbacks—like his withdrawal from the Zandvoort race—that he would stick to his strategy and approach each session with the identical unwavering attention to detail. This approach has paid off.

Meanwhile, McLaren have worked hard to attempt to maintain a level playing field for their pair of racers, and it has on occasion been a rather difficult process, especially at Monza when the squad directed the Australian to surrender the runner-up spot to his teammate after he had fallen behind because of a delayed tire change. Certain spectators were unhappy with what was seen as the team unnecessarily manipulating their drivers.

The championship leader has won the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico and Brazil, and was booed on the winner's rostrum at each, leaving him unfazed. "When you're on top, a lot of individuals try to undermine you. They don't like seeing you winning. I consider it a good thing," he remarked.

"It amuses me. When I was on the winner's stage in Brazil, I really enjoyed it. It was very satisfying. At last you sense that you're doing success.

"It doesn't bother me, as long as I come out on top. If I believe I am competing the correct way, which I feel like that's the case, as long as I am confident I am dedicating effort into remaining true to myself and similar principles, then I am not concerned about the rest of it."

Las Vegas, meanwhile, needs to be conquered, and it is a circuit ideal for the British team. It shares similarities with Montreal and Baku: low downforce, chilly conditions, and low grip. These are the only two circuits this season where McLaren have been unable to secure a single podium place, and Norris was circumspect once more about their chances this weekend. Still, his objective in the immediate future is straightforward: finish in front of his teammate and the championship tally he requires will follow.

Practice Sees Mixed Outcomes for Title Contenders

Charles Leclerc led the times in first practice on what was remained a dusty and very slippery track. Alex Albon was runner-up, with Verstappen fourth, Norris in P6, and the Australian in eighth. In the more indicative evening session of second practice, Norris was fastest from the Mercedes of the Italian rookie, with Piastri 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 the penultimate corner.

The issue is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the first Nevada GP held in 2023, a loose drain cover smashed into Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely damaging it and leading to the session to be aborted.

Mercedes Confirm Ownership Transaction

The eight-time constructors' champions have confirmed that their team principal Toto Wolff has divested a fifteen percent share in his investment firm, equating to a five percent ownership in the team, to American billionaire George Kurtz. Kurtz is the CEO and founder of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. The team principal will stay on as team principal and could earn as much as £230m from the sale, with the Brackley-based outfit having been appraised at £4.57bn, a new high for an Formula 1 constructor.