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Despite the hype surrounding the Sin City Grand Prix, Lando Norris is maintaining a level head about his chances of securing his maiden drivers' championship.

Norris currently has a two-dozen point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with only a maximum of 83 points available across the final three races. However, after staging a remarkable recovery from 34 points behind his teammate following the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is focused on performing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the lead of the championship.

"Things can quickly turn the opposite way once more as much as I don't want it to," he commented. "That's racing, you know. Sometimes you get lucky. You can also be unlucky. No matter what happens. There's really no point getting excited or thinking about it. I still do see it as something that remains distant."

The 26-year-old has found his best form at a critical juncture—having struggled with the car in the opening half of the campaign—at the same time that his teammate has shed the disciplined, nearly perfect composure that previously made him appear to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris maintained a remarkable level of composure all along, asserting even in the face of challenges—like his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would adhere to his strategy and approach every outing with the identical relentless focus on specifics. This approach has paid off.

Meanwhile, the team have gone to no little effort to attempt to preserve a level playing field for their two drivers, and it has at times been something of torturous experience, most notably at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad directed Piastri to cede second place to his teammate following he had lost the spot because of a delayed tire change. Certain spectators were unhappy with what was considered the team needlessly interfering with their competitors.

Norris has won the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico and São Paulo, and was booed on the winner's rostrum at both, yet he remained unfazed. "When you're leading, many people try to bring you down. They do not want to see you winning. I consider it a good thing," he said.

"It just amuses me. While standing on the podium in Brazil, I truly loved it. It was very enjoyable. At last you feel like you're doing something right.

"It doesn't bother me, provided that I come out on top. If I feel like I'm doing it the correct way, and I think that's the case, as long as I feel like I am dedicating hard work into being who I am and those kinds of things, then I'm not too fussed with external opinions."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, must be mastered, and it is a circuit suited to the McLaren. It shares similarities with Montreal and Azerbaijan: low downforce, chilly conditions, and slippery surfaces. These are the only two circuits this season where the papaya squad have failed to secure at least one top-three finish, and the leader was circumspect once more about their chances in Nevada. Yet, his task in the immediate future is simple: finish in ahead of Piastri and the championship tally he requires will come.

Practice Sees Mixed Results for Title Contenders

Charles Leclerc led the times in first practice on what was remained a dusty and extremely low-grip track. Alex Albon was second, with the Red Bull star fourth, the McLaren ace sixth, and the Australian eighth. During the more representative evening session of second practice, Norris was quickest from the Silver Arrows of Kimi Antonelli, with his teammate down in fourteenth; though, the practice was interrupted for almost all of the final 20 minutes of running to check a suspected loose drain cover at turn 17.

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

Mercedes Confirm Ownership Sale

The eight-time constructors' champions have revealed that their boss the Austrian executive has sold a 15% stake in his holding company, equating to a 5% share in the team, to US tycoon the cybersecurity magnate. The investor is the CEO and founder of the digital protection firm the tech giant. The team principal will remain as team principal and may receive up to £230m from the sale, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57 billion, a record for an Formula 1 constructor.