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Amid all hype surrounding the Sin City Grand Prix, Lando Norris is maintaining a calm demeanor about his prospects of securing his maiden drivers' championship.

The British driver currently holds a 24-point advantage over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by 49 points, with only a maximum of 83 points available across the final three events. However, after staging a remarkable comeback from 34 points behind his teammate after the Zandvoort race in August, Norris is focused on performing with the methodical approach that propelled him to the lead of the standings.

"It can quickly go in the other direction once more as much as I hope it doesn't," he stated. "That's motorsport, as we all know. You can get lucky. Other times you also be unlucky. Whatever it may be. It's not worth getting excited or dwelling on it. I continue to view it as a goal that's quite far away."

The 26-year-old has discovered his best form at a critical juncture—having struggled with the vehicle in the opening half of the season—at the same time that Piastri has lost the disciplined, nearly perfect composure that previously made him appear to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris kept a impressive level of equanimity all along, insisting despite challenges—like his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his gameplan and approach every outing with the same unwavering focus on specifics. It has yielded results.

All the while, the team have worked hard to attempt to preserve a level playing field for their pair of racers, and it has at times been something of torturous process, especially at the Italian Grand Prix when the team instructed the Australian to surrender second place to his teammate after he had lost the spot because of a slow pit stop. Certain spectators did not take well to what was considered McLaren needlessly manipulating their drivers.

Norris has won the last two grands prix, in Mexico City and São Paulo, and was jeered on the winner's rostrum at each, leaving him unmoved. "When you're on top, a lot of individuals want to undermine you. They don't want to see you succeeding. I see it as a positive sign," he said.

"It just makes me laugh. When I was on the winner's stage in Brazil, I really loved it. It was very enjoyable. At last you sense that you are achieving success.

"I don't mind, as long as I win. As long as I believe I'm doing it the right manner, which I feel like I am, so long as I am confident I'm putting hard work into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I'm not too fussed with the rest of it."

Vegas, meanwhile, must be mastered, and it is not a track ideal for the British team. The layout has similarities with Canada and Baku: low downforce, chilly conditions, and low grip. They are the only two tracks this season where McLaren have failed to claim at least one top-three finish, and the leader was cautious once more about their chances this weekend. Still, his objective in the short term is straightforward: end the race in ahead of Piastri and the points he requires will come.

Practice Shows Varied Results for Title Rivals

Charles Leclerc topped the leaderboard in FP1 on what was still a sandy and extremely low-grip surface. The Williams racer was second, with the Red Bull star fourth, the McLaren ace sixth, and Piastri in eighth. During the more indicative night running of second practice, Norris was fastest from the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with his teammate down in fourteenth; however, the practice was interrupted for nearly the final 20 minutes of track time to check a suspected loose drain cover at turn 17.

The issue is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the first Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a dislodged drain cover struck the Ferrari, severely damaging it and leading to the session to be ended.

The German Team Announce Ownership Transaction

The eight-time constructors' champions have revealed that their boss Toto Wolff has divested a fifteen percent share in his holding company, equating to a five percent ownership in the team, to US tycoon the cybersecurity magnate. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the digital protection firm the tech giant. The team principal will stay on as boss and could earn as much as £230 million from the deal, with the Brackley-based outfit having been valued at £4.57bn, a new high for an F1 team.