🔗 Share this article

Amid the excitement around the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is maintaining a calm demeanor regarding his chances of securing his maiden drivers' championship.

Norris currently has a two-dozen point lead over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with only a maximum of eighty-three points available across the remaining trio of events. But, after pulling off a extraordinary comeback from a significant deficit Piastri following the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is focused on executing with the methodical approach that propelled him to the top of the championship.

"It can quickly go the opposite way again as much as I hope it doesn't," he commented. "That's racing, as we all know. Sometimes you also have luck. Other times you end up unlucky. No matter what happens. There's really no point getting excited or dwelling on it. I continue to view it as a goal that's quite far away."

The 26-year-old has found his peak performance at a critical moment—after difficulties with the vehicle in the first part of the campaign—while Piastri has lost the disciplined, almost flawless composure that previously made him appear to be a champion in waiting. Importantly, Norris kept a remarkable level of composure throughout, insisting despite setbacks—like his withdrawal from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his gameplan and approach every outing with the identical unwavering focus on specifics. This approach has paid off.

All the while, the team have worked hard to attempt to preserve a level playing field for their two drivers, and it has on occasion been something of difficult experience, especially at Monza when the team instructed Piastri to surrender the runner-up spot to his teammate after he had lost the spot due to a slow pit stop. Certain spectators did not take well to what was seen as the team unnecessarily manipulating their competitors.

The championship leader has won the last two grands prix, in Mexico City and Brazil, and was booed on the winner's rostrum at both, yet he remained unmoved. "When you're on top, a lot of individuals want to undermine you. They don't want to see you winning. I consider it a positive sign," he remarked.

"It makes me laugh. While standing on the winner's stage in Interlagos, I truly enjoyed it. It was very satisfying. At last you sense that you're doing success.

"It doesn't bother me, provided that I come out on top. If I believe I'm doing it the right way, and I think that's the case, so long as I feel like I'm putting hard work into remaining true to myself and those kinds of things, then I am not concerned with the rest of it."

Las Vegas, meanwhile, must be mastered, and it is a circuit suited to the British team. The layout has similarities with Canada and Azerbaijan: minimal aerodynamic grip, cool temperatures, and slippery surfaces. These are the sole pair of circuits this season where McLaren have been unable to secure at least one top-three finish, and Norris was circumspect again about their prospects this weekend. Yet, his task in the short term is simple: end the race in front of Piastri and the championship tally he needs will come.

Practice Sees Varied Outcomes for Title Rivals

The Ferrari driver led the times in first practice on what was still a dusty and very slippery surface. The Williams racer was runner-up, with Verstappen in fourth, the McLaren ace in P6, and the Australian eighth. During the more representative night running of second practice, the Briton was quickest from the Silver Arrows of Kimi Antonelli, with his teammate down in fourteenth; however, the session was interrupted for almost all of the last third of track time to inspect a suspected loose manhole cover at the penultimate corner.

The issue is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Las Vegas GP held in 2023, a loose manhole struck Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, heavily harming it and causing 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 holding company, equating to a 5% share in the team, to US tycoon George Kurtz. The investor is the CEO and founder of the digital protection firm CrowdStrike. The team principal will stay on as boss and could earn as much as £230m from the deal, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57bn, a record for an Formula 1 constructor.