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Amid all hype surrounding the Sin City Grand Prix, Lando Norris is maintaining a calm demeanor regarding his chances of claiming his maiden world title.

Norris currently has a 24-point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by 49 points, with only up to 83 points up for grabs across the remaining trio of events. However, after staging a remarkable comeback from a significant deficit Piastri after the Zandvoort race in August, Norris is concentrating on executing with the methodical approach that lifted him to the top of the championship.

"It can quickly go the opposite way once more as much as I don't want it to," he stated. "That's motorsport, as we all know. Sometimes you also have luck. You can also be unfortunate. No matter what happens. It's not worth getting excited or thinking about it. I still do see it as a goal that remains far away."

Norris has discovered his best form at a critical moment—after difficulties with the car in the opening half of the season—while his teammate has lost the controlled, nearly flawless ease that had for so long made him seem to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris kept a remarkable level of equanimity throughout, insisting despite challenges—like his retirement from the Zandvoort race—that he would stick to his strategy and work every outing with the identical unwavering focus on specifics. This approach has paid off.

Meanwhile, the team have gone to no little effort to attempt to preserve a fair competition for their two drivers, and it has at times been a rather difficult experience, most notably at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad directed Piastri to surrender second place to his teammate following he had lost the spot because of a slow pit stop. Certain spectators did not take well to what was seen as the team unnecessarily interfering with their drivers.

The championship leader has won the last two grands prix, in Mexico City and Brazil, and was booed on the winner's rostrum at each, leaving him unfazed. "Once you are on top, many individuals want to undermine you. They do not like seeing you winning. I consider it a good thing," he said.

"It amuses me. While standing on the podium in Brazil, I really loved it. The experience was quite enjoyable. At last you sense that you're doing success.

"It doesn't bother me, provided that I come out on top. As long as I believe I am competing the right manner, which I feel like I am, as 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 the rest of it."

Las Vegas, meanwhile, must be conquered, and it is not a track suited to the McLaren. It shares similarities with Montreal and Baku: minimal aerodynamic grip, chilly conditions, and slippery surfaces. These are the only two tracks this season where the papaya squad have failed to secure a single podium place, and Norris was circumspect again about their prospects this weekend. Yet, his task in the short term is simple: end the race in ahead of his teammate and the championship tally he requires will follow.

Practice Shows Mixed Results for Title Rivals

Charles Leclerc topped the times in first practice on what was still a sandy and very low-grip track. The Williams racer was second, with the Red Bull star fourth, the McLaren ace in P6, and Piastri eighth. During the more representative night running of second practice, the Briton was fastest from the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, with Piastri 14th; however, the session was interrupted for almost all of the final 20 minutes of track time to inspect a reported unsecured drain cover at the penultimate corner.

This problem is treated with caution on a street circuit where, at the inaugural Las Vegas GP held in 2023, a dislodged manhole struck the Ferrari, severely damaging it and leading to the practice to be ended.

Mercedes Announce Ownership Sale

The eight-time constructors' champions have revealed that their boss Toto Wolff has sold a 15% stake in his investment firm, equating to a five percent ownership in the team, to American billionaire the cybersecurity magnate. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. 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 £4.57 billion, a record for an F1 team.