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Amid the hype around the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lando Norris is maintaining a level head regarding his prospects of claiming his first drivers' championship.

The British driver currently holds a 24-point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with just up to 83 points available across the final three races. But, after pulling off a remarkable recovery from 34 points behind Piastri following the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Norris is focused on executing with the clinical precision that propelled him to the lead of the championship.

"Things can easily turn in the other direction again as much as I hope it doesn't," he stated. "That's racing, you know. Sometimes you also have luck. You can end up unfortunate. No matter what happens. It's no point getting excited or dwelling on it. I still do see it as something that remains far away."

Norris has found his best form at a critical juncture—after difficulties with the vehicle in the first part of the campaign—while his teammate has shed the controlled, nearly flawless composure that had for so long made him seem to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris maintained a remarkable level of composure throughout, asserting despite challenges—like his withdrawal from the Zandvoort race—that he would adhere to his gameplan and approach each session with the identical relentless attention to detail. It has yielded results.

All the while, McLaren have gone to no little effort to attempt to maintain a fair competition for their two drivers, and it has at times been something of torturous process, especially at the Italian Grand Prix when the team directed the Australian to cede second place to his teammate following he had lost the spot due to a delayed tire change. Certain spectators did not take well to what was considered the team unnecessarily interfering with their competitors.

The championship leader has won the last two races, in Mexico City and São Paulo, and was booed on the podium at both, leaving him unmoved. "When you're on top, a lot of individuals try to undermine you. They don't like seeing you winning. I see it as a positive sign," he said.

"It just amuses me. When I was on the winner's stage in Brazil, I really enjoyed it. It was quite satisfying. You finally feel like you're doing success.

"It doesn't bother me, as long as I win. If I feel like I am competing the right way, which I feel like that's the case, so long as I feel like I am dedicating effort into remaining true to myself and those kinds of things, then I'm not too fussed about external opinions."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be mastered, and it is not a track ideal for the British team. It shares characteristics with Montreal and Azerbaijan: low downforce, chilly conditions, and slippery surfaces. These are the only two tracks in the current championship where the papaya squad have failed to secure a single top-three finish, and the leader was circumspect again about their chances in Nevada. Still, his objective in the short term is simple: end the race in front of his teammate and the championship tally he requires will follow.

Practice Shows Mixed Results for Title Contenders

The Ferrari driver topped the leaderboard in first practice on what was remained a sandy and very low-grip surface. Alex Albon was second, with Verstappen fourth, the McLaren ace sixth, and Piastri eighth. In the more representative night running of FP2, the Briton was fastest ahead of the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with his teammate down in fourteenth; though, the practice was interrupted for nearly the last third of track time to check a suspected unsecured drain cover at the penultimate corner.

This problem is taken seriously on a street circuit where, at the first Nevada GP staged in 2023, a dislodged manhole smashed into the Ferrari, heavily harming it and causing the session to be ended.

Mercedes Confirm Ownership Sale

Mercedes have confirmed that their boss the Austrian executive has divested a 15% stake in his holding company, equating to a five percent ownership in the team, to US tycoon George Kurtz. Kurtz is the CEO and founder of the digital protection firm the tech giant. Wolff will stay on as team principal and may receive as much as £230 million from the deal, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57 billion, a new high for an F1 team.