🔗 Share this article

Amid all excitement around the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is keeping a calm demeanor about his chances of claiming his first world title.

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 only a maximum of eighty-three points up for grabs across the remaining trio of events. However, after staging a extraordinary comeback from a significant deficit Piastri after the Zandvoort race in August, Norris is focused on performing with the methodical approach that propelled him to the lead of the championship.

"Things can easily turn the opposite way once more as much as I don't want it to," he stated. "That's motorsport, as we all know. You can get lucky. You can end up unlucky. Whatever it may be. It's not worth becoming overjoyed or dwelling on it. I continue to view it as a goal that's quite far away."

The 26-year-old has discovered his peak performance at a crucial moment—having struggled with the vehicle in the first part of the campaign—while Piastri has lost the disciplined, almost flawless composure that previously made him seem to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris maintained a remarkable level of equanimity all along, insisting despite challenges—such as his withdrawal from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his gameplan and approach each session with the identical unwavering attention to detail. It has paid off.

All the while, the team have worked hard to try to preserve a fair competition for their pair of racers, and it has at times been a rather torturous process, most notably at Monza when the team instructed the Australian to surrender the runner-up spot to Norris following he had lost the spot due to a slow pit stop. Certain spectators did not take well to what was considered McLaren needlessly manipulating their drivers.

The championship leader has won the last two races, in Mexico and São Paulo, and was booed on the winner's rostrum at both, leaving him unmoved. "When you're on top, many individuals try to undermine you. They don't like seeing you succeeding. I see it as a positive sign," he remarked.

"It amuses me. When I was on the podium in Interlagos, I really loved it. The experience was very satisfying. You finally 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'm doing it the correct way, and I think that's the case, as long as I am confident I am dedicating effort into remaining true to myself and those kinds of things, then I am not concerned with external opinions."

Las Vegas, meanwhile, must be mastered, and it is not a track suited to the British team. The layout has characteristics with Canada and Azerbaijan: low downforce, chilly conditions, and low grip. They are the sole pair of circuits this season where the papaya squad have failed to claim at least one top-three finish, and the leader was cautious again about their prospects this weekend. Still, his task in the immediate future is simple: end the race in front of Piastri and the points he requires will follow.

Practice Sees Varied Results for Title Contenders

Charles Leclerc led the leaderboard in first practice on what was still a dusty and extremely low-grip track. Alex Albon was second, with Verstappen fourth, the McLaren ace in P6, and Piastri eighth. In the more representative night running of second practice, Norris was quickest ahead of the Silver Arrows of Kimi Antonelli, with his teammate 14th; however, the practice lost nearly the final 20 minutes of track time to check a suspected loose drain cover at turn 17.

The issue is taken seriously on a street circuit where, at the first Nevada GP held in 2023, a loose manhole struck the Ferrari, heavily harming it and causing the session to be aborted.

Mercedes Announce Stake Transaction

The eight-time constructors' champions have confirmed that their team principal Toto Wolff has sold a 15% stake in his investment firm, representing a 5% share in the team, to US tycoon the cybersecurity magnate. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. The team principal will stay on as team principal and may receive up to £230m from the deal, with the Brackley-based outfit having been valued at £4.57 billion, a new high for an F1 team.