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Despite all hype surrounding the Sin City Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is maintaining a calm demeanor regarding his prospects of claiming his maiden drivers' championship.

The British driver presently has a two-dozen 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 available across the remaining trio of events. However, after pulling off a remarkable recovery from 34 points behind his teammate after the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Norris is concentrating on performing with the clinical precision that propelled him to the lead of the standings.

"It can easily go in the other direction again as much as I don't want it to," he stated. "That's racing, you know. Sometimes you also have luck. You can also be unfortunate. No matter what happens. There's really not worth getting excited or dwelling on it. I continue to do see it as a goal that's quite distant."

The 26-year-old has discovered his best form at a crucial moment—having struggled with the vehicle in the first part of the campaign—at the same time that his teammate has lost the controlled, almost perfect ease that had for so long made him seem to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris maintained a remarkable level of equanimity all along, asserting despite challenges—such as his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would adhere to his gameplan and approach each session with the identical relentless focus on specifics. It has yielded results.

All the while, McLaren have gone to no little effort to try to preserve a fair competition for their pair of racers, and it has at times been a rather torturous process, especially at Monza when the team directed the Australian to surrender the runner-up spot to Norris following he had lost the spot due to a slow pit stop. Some fans did not take well to what was considered the team needlessly manipulating their competitors.

Norris has won the last two races, in Mexico City and São Paulo, and was jeered on the podium at each, yet he remained unfazed. "Once you are on top, a lot of people want to bring you down. They do not want to see you winning. I see it as a positive sign," he said.

"It just amuses me. When I was on the podium in Interlagos, I really enjoyed it. The experience was quite satisfying. You finally feel like you are achieving something right.

"It doesn't bother me, as long as I come out on top. If I believe I am competing the correct way, and I think I am, as long as I am confident I am dedicating hard work into remaining true to myself and those kinds of things, then I am not concerned about external opinions."

Las Vegas, meanwhile, needs to be conquered, and it is a circuit ideal for the McLaren. The layout has similarities with Montreal and Baku: minimal aerodynamic grip, chilly conditions, and slippery surfaces. They are the sole pair of circuits this season where McLaren have failed to secure at least one top-three finish, and Norris was circumspect again about their chances this weekend. Still, his task in the immediate future is simple: finish in ahead of his teammate and the championship tally he needs will come.

Practice Sees Mixed Results for Title Contenders

Charles Leclerc topped the times in first practice on what was still a dusty and very low-grip surface. Alex Albon was runner-up, with Verstappen fourth, the McLaren ace sixth, and Piastri in eighth. During the more indicative evening session of second practice, the Briton was quickest ahead of the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, with Piastri 14th; however, the practice lost nearly the last third of track time to inspect a suspected unsecured manhole cover at the penultimate corner.

This problem is taken seriously on a street circuit where, at the first Nevada GP held in 2023, a dislodged drain cover struck Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely harming it and leading to the practice to be ended.

The German Team Announce Ownership Transaction

Mercedes have revealed that their team principal Toto Wolff has sold a 15% stake in his investment firm, equating to a five percent ownership in the team, to American billionaire George Kurtz. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the digital protection firm CrowdStrike. Wolff will remain as team principal and could earn as much as £230 million from the deal, with Mercedes having been appraised at £4.57bn, a new high for an F1 team.