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Despite all hype around the Sin City Grand Prix, Lando Norris is maintaining a level head regarding his chances of claiming his maiden drivers' championship.

Norris presently has a 24-point lead over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with just a maximum of 83 points up for grabs across the final three events. But, after staging a extraordinary recovery from a significant deficit his teammate following 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 go the opposite way once more even though I hope it doesn't," he commented. "That's motorsport, as we all know. You can also have luck. You can also be unfortunate. No matter what happens. There's really no point getting excited or dwelling on it. I still view it as something that remains far away."

Norris has found his best form at a critical juncture—after difficulties with the car in the opening half of the campaign—at the same time that Piastri has shed the controlled, almost perfect ease that had for so long made him seem to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris kept a remarkable level of composure all along, insisting despite challenges—such as his retirement from the Zandvoort race—that he would adhere to his gameplan and work every outing with the same unwavering focus on specifics. It has paid off.

Meanwhile, the team have gone to no little effort to try to preserve a level playing field for their two drivers, and it has at times been something of torturous process, especially at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad directed the Australian to cede the runner-up spot to his teammate following he had lost the spot due to a delayed tire change. Some fans were unhappy with what was considered McLaren unnecessarily manipulating their drivers.

The championship leader has won the previous pair of races, in Mexico and São Paulo, and was jeered on the winner's rostrum at each, yet he remained unmoved. "Once you are leading, many people want to undermine you. They do not want to see you succeeding. I see it as a positive sign," he said.

"It makes me laugh. When I was on the winner's stage in Interlagos, I really loved it. It was quite satisfying. You finally feel like you're doing success.

"It doesn't bother me, as long as I come out on top. As long as I believe I'm doing it the correct manner, and I think I am, so long as I am confident I am dedicating effort into remaining true to myself and similar principles, then I am not concerned about external opinions."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be conquered, and it is a circuit suited to the McLaren. It shares characteristics with Montreal and Azerbaijan: minimal aerodynamic grip, chilly conditions, and low grip. They are the only two circuits this season where McLaren have failed to claim a single podium place, and the leader was circumspect again about their prospects this weekend. Still, his objective in the immediate future is simple: finish in front of his teammate and the points he needs will follow.

Practice Sees Varied Results for Title Contenders

Charles Leclerc led the leaderboard in first practice on what was still a sandy and extremely low-grip track. Alex Albon was runner-up, with the Red Bull star fourth, Norris sixth, and Piastri eighth. In the more indicative evening session of second practice, Norris was fastest from the Silver Arrows of Kimi Antonelli, with his teammate 14th; however, the practice lost nearly the final 20 minutes of running to inspect a reported loose drain cover at the penultimate corner.

The issue is taken seriously on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a loose drain cover struck the Ferrari, severely damaging it and leading to the session to be aborted.

The German Team Confirm Ownership Transaction

Mercedes have revealed that their boss the Austrian executive has sold a fifteen percent share in his investment firm, equating to a 5% share in the team, to American billionaire the cybersecurity magnate. Kurtz is the chief executive and creator of the digital protection firm CrowdStrike. Wolff will stay on as team principal and may receive up to £230 million from the deal, with Mercedes having been appraised at £4.57bn, a record for an F1 team.