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Amid all excitement around the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lando Norris is keeping a level head about his chances of securing his maiden world title.

The British driver presently has a 24-point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with only a maximum of eighty-three points available across the final three races. However, after staging a remarkable comeback from 34 points behind his teammate after the Zandvoort race in August, Norris is concentrating on performing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the top of the standings.

"It can quickly go the opposite way again even though I don't want it to," he stated. "That's racing, you know. Sometimes you also have luck. You can end up unfortunate. Whatever it may be. It's no point becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I continue to view it as something that's quite far away."

The 26-year-old has found his best form at a critical juncture—after difficulties with the vehicle in the opening half of the season—at the same time that Piastri has lost the controlled, almost flawless ease that had for so long made him appear to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris kept a remarkable level of equanimity throughout, insisting despite challenges—like his withdrawal from the Dutch GP—that he would adhere to his strategy and work each session with the identical unwavering attention to detail. It has yielded results.

All the while, the team have worked hard to try to maintain a fair competition for their two drivers, and it has on occasion been a rather torturous experience, most notably at Monza when the squad instructed Piastri to surrender the runner-up spot to Norris following he had fallen behind because of a delayed tire change. Certain spectators did not take well to what was seen as McLaren needlessly manipulating their drivers.

The championship leader has claimed victory in the last two grands prix, in Mexico and Brazil, and was jeered on the winner's rostrum at each, leaving him unmoved. "When you're leading, many individuals want to bring you down. They don't like seeing you succeeding. I consider it a positive sign," he remarked.

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

"I don't mind, provided that I win. If I believe I am competing the right manner, and I think that's the case, so long as I am confident I am dedicating effort into remaining true to myself and those kinds of things, then I'm not too fussed with external opinions."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be mastered, and it is not a track suited to the British team. It shares characteristics with Montreal and Azerbaijan: minimal aerodynamic grip, chilly conditions, and slippery surfaces. They are the only two tracks this season where the papaya squad have failed to secure at least one top-three finish, and Norris was cautious again about their chances in Nevada. Yet, his task in the immediate future is simple: end the race in ahead of his teammate and the championship tally he requires will follow.

Practice Sees Mixed Outcomes for Championship Rivals

Charles Leclerc topped the leaderboard in first practice on what was remained a dusty and extremely slippery track. The Williams racer was second, with Verstappen in fourth, Norris in P6, and Piastri eighth. In the more representative evening session of second practice, the Briton was fastest from the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with his teammate 14th; though, the practice was interrupted for almost all of the final 20 minutes of running to check a reported loose drain cover at the penultimate corner.

The issue is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Nevada GP held in 2023, a loose drain cover smashed into the Ferrari, heavily harming it and causing the practice to be aborted.

The German Team Announce Stake Transaction

The eight-time constructors' champions have confirmed that their team principal Toto Wolff has divested a 15% stake in his investment firm, representing a five percent ownership in the team, to US tycoon George Kurtz. Kurtz is the chief executive and creator of the digital protection firm the tech giant. Wolff will remain as boss and could earn as much as £230m from the sale, with the Brackley-based outfit having been appraised at £4.57 billion, a new high for an F1 team.