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Despite all excitement around the Sin City Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is maintaining a level head regarding his chances of claiming his maiden drivers' championship.

Norris presently has a two-dozen point advantage over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with only up to 83 points up for grabs across the final three races. But, after pulling off a extraordinary recovery from 34 points behind Piastri following the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Norris is concentrating on executing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the lead of the championship.

"It can quickly turn the opposite way once more even though I don't want it to," he commented. "That's motorsport, as we all know. Sometimes you also have luck. Other times you also be 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."

Norris has discovered his best form at a crucial moment—having struggled with the vehicle in the first part of the campaign—while his teammate has lost the disciplined, almost perfect composure that previously made him seem to be a champion in waiting. Importantly, Norris maintained a remarkable level of equanimity all along, asserting even in the face of challenges—like his withdrawal from the Zandvoort race—that he would stick to his strategy and approach each session with the identical relentless attention to detail. It has paid off.

All the while, McLaren have worked hard to attempt to maintain a level playing field for their two drivers, and it has at times been a rather difficult process, especially at Monza when the squad instructed Piastri to cede the runner-up spot to his teammate after he had lost the spot due to a delayed tire change. Certain spectators did not take well to what was seen as McLaren unnecessarily manipulating their drivers.

The championship leader has claimed victory in the last two grands prix, in Mexico and Brazil, and was jeered on the winner's rostrum at each, yet he remained unmoved. "When you're on top, many individuals try to undermine you. They do not want to see you succeeding. I consider it a good thing," he remarked.

"It just amuses me. While standing on the podium in Interlagos, I truly enjoyed it. It was very satisfying. At last you feel like you are achieving something right.

"It doesn't bother me, as long as I come out on top. As long as I feel like I am competing the right manner, which I feel like that's the case, so long as I feel like I am dedicating effort into remaining true to myself and similar principles, then I am not concerned about the rest of it."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, must be conquered, and it is not a track suited to the McLaren. The layout has characteristics with Canada and Baku: minimal aerodynamic grip, chilly conditions, and low grip. They are the sole pair of tracks this season where McLaren have failed to secure a single podium place, and the leader was circumspect once more about their chances this weekend. Yet, his task in the immediate future is straightforward: end the race in front of Piastri and the points he requires will come.

Practice Sees Mixed Results for Title Rivals

Charles Leclerc topped the leaderboard in first practice on what was still a dusty and very slippery surface. The Williams racer was runner-up, with the Red Bull star in fourth, Norris sixth, and the Australian eighth. During the more representative night running of second practice, the Briton was fastest from the Mercedes of the Italian rookie, with Piastri down in fourteenth; though, the session lost almost all of the last third of running to check a suspected loose drain cover at turn 17.

This problem is taken seriously on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Nevada GP staged in 2023, a loose drain cover smashed into Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely harming it and causing the practice to be ended.

The German Team Announce Ownership Transaction

Mercedes have confirmed that their team principal the Austrian executive has divested a 15% stake in his holding company, representing a five percent ownership in the team, to US tycoon George Kurtz. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. The team principal will stay on as boss and may receive up to £230m from the sale, with the Brackley-based outfit having been valued at £4.57bn, a new high for an F1 team.