🔗 Share this article

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

Norris currently holds a two-dozen point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by 49 points, with only up to eighty-three points up for grabs across the final three events. But, after pulling off a remarkable recovery from 34 points behind Piastri after the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is focused on executing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the top of the standings.

"It can easily go the opposite way once more as much as I hope it doesn't," he stated. "That's motorsport, as we all know. Sometimes you get lucky. You can end up unfortunate. No matter what happens. There's really no point becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I continue to view it as something that's quite distant."

Norris has found his peak performance at a critical juncture—having struggled with the car in the opening half of the campaign—at the same time that Piastri has shed the controlled, nearly flawless ease that previously made him seem to be a champion in waiting. Notably, Norris kept a remarkable level of equanimity throughout, asserting even in the face of challenges—like his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would adhere to his strategy and approach each session with the identical unwavering focus on specifics. This approach has yielded results.

Meanwhile, the team have worked hard to try to preserve a level playing field for their two drivers, and it has at times been a rather difficult experience, especially at Monza when the team instructed Piastri to cede second place to his teammate after he had lost the spot due to a delayed tire change. Some fans did not take well to what was seen as the team needlessly interfering with their competitors.

Norris has claimed victory in the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico and São Paulo, and was jeered on the podium at each, leaving him unfazed. "Once you are on top, many people try to undermine you. They do not want to see you succeeding. I see it as a positive sign," he said.

"It makes me laugh. While standing on the podium in Interlagos, I truly loved it. It was quite enjoyable. At last you feel like you are achieving something right.

"I don't mind, as long as I win. As long as I feel like I am competing the right manner, and I think that's the case, so long as I feel like I am dedicating hard work into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I am not concerned about external opinions."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, must be mastered, and it is a circuit suited to the British team. The layout has characteristics with Canada and Baku: minimal aerodynamic grip, chilly conditions, and slippery surfaces. These are the only two circuits this season where McLaren have failed to claim at least one podium place, and the leader was circumspect again about their prospects this weekend. Still, his task in the immediate future is straightforward: end the race in front of his teammate and the points he needs will follow.

Friday Running Sees Varied Results for Title Contenders

Charles Leclerc led the leaderboard in FP1 on what was still a dusty and extremely slippery surface. The Williams racer was second, with Verstappen in fourth, the McLaren ace sixth, and Piastri eighth. In the more indicative night running of FP2, the Briton was fastest from the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with Piastri 14th; however, the practice lost almost all of the last third of running to inspect a reported unsecured manhole cover at the penultimate corner.

This problem is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a dislodged manhole struck Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely damaging it and leading to the session to be aborted.

Mercedes Announce Ownership Sale

Mercedes have confirmed that their team principal the Austrian executive has divested a fifteen percent share in his investment firm, representing a five percent ownership in the squad, to US tycoon George Kurtz. Kurtz is the chief executive and creator of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. Wolff will stay on as boss and could earn up to £230 million from the sale, with the Brackley-based outfit having been valued at £4.57 billion, a record for an Formula 1 constructor.