🔗 Share this article

Despite all hype surrounding the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is keeping a calm demeanor regarding his chances of claiming his first drivers' championship.

The British driver presently holds a 24-point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by 49 points, with only up to 83 points up for grabs across the final three races. But, after pulling off a extraordinary comeback from 34 points behind Piastri after the Zandvoort race in August, Norris is focused on executing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the lead of the championship.

"It can quickly turn the opposite way again as much as I don't want it to," he stated. "That's motorsport, you know. Sometimes you get lucky. Other times you end up unlucky. Whatever it may be. There's really not worth becoming overjoyed or dwelling on it. I continue to view it as a goal that remains distant."

The 26-year-old has discovered his peak performance at a crucial moment—having struggled with the vehicle in the first part of the season—at the same time that his teammate has shed the controlled, nearly flawless ease that had for so long made him seem to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris maintained a remarkable level of equanimity throughout, asserting despite setbacks—such as his withdrawal from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his gameplan and work each session with the identical relentless focus on specifics. This approach has yielded results.

All the while, McLaren have worked hard to try to maintain a fair competition for their pair of racers, and it has at times been a rather torturous process, especially at Monza when the squad instructed Piastri to cede the runner-up spot to Norris following he had fallen behind because of a slow pit stop. Certain spectators did not take well to what was considered McLaren needlessly manipulating their drivers.

The championship leader has won the last two races, in Mexico and Brazil, and was jeered on the winner's rostrum at both, yet he remained unmoved. "Once you are on top, many people try to bring you down. They don't like seeing you winning. I consider it 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 quite satisfying. At last you feel like you're doing something right.

"It doesn't bother me, as long as I win. If I believe I'm doing it the correct manner, which I feel like I am, so long as I am confident I am dedicating hard work into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I am not concerned about the rest of it."

Vegas, meanwhile, must be mastered, and it is a circuit ideal for the British team. The layout has characteristics with Montreal and Baku: minimal aerodynamic grip, cool temperatures, and slippery surfaces. They are the only two circuits in the current championship where the papaya squad have been unable to claim at least one top-three finish, and the leader was circumspect again about their prospects this weekend. Still, his task in the short term is straightforward: finish in front of Piastri and the points he requires will follow.

Practice Shows Mixed Outcomes for Title Rivals

Charles Leclerc led the times in first practice on what was still a sandy and extremely low-grip surface. Alex Albon was second, with the Red Bull star in fourth, Norris sixth, and the Australian in eighth. During the more representative evening session of FP2, Norris was fastest ahead of the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with Piastri down in fourteenth; though, the practice lost almost all of the last third of track time to check a suspected unsecured drain cover at turn 17.

This problem is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Nevada GP held in 2023, a loose manhole struck the Ferrari, heavily harming it and leading to the session to be ended.

Mercedes Announce Ownership Transaction

Mercedes have revealed that their boss the Austrian executive has divested a fifteen percent share in his holding company, representing a five percent ownership in the team, to American billionaire the cybersecurity magnate. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. The team principal will remain as boss and could earn up to £230m from the sale, with the Brackley-based outfit having been valued at £4.57 billion, a new high for an F1 team.