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Amid the excitement surrounding the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lando Norris is keeping a level head about his chances of securing his maiden drivers' championship.

Norris presently has a two-dozen point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with just up to eighty-three points up for grabs across the final three events. But, after staging a remarkable comeback from a significant deficit his teammate following the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is focused on executing with the methodical approach that lifted him to the top of the championship.

"Things can easily go in the other direction once more even though I don't want it to," he commented. "That's racing, as we all know. Sometimes you also have luck. Other times you also be unfortunate. Whatever it may be. There's really not worth getting excited or dwelling on it. I continue to do see it as a goal that's quite distant."

Norris has discovered his peak performance at a crucial juncture—after difficulties with the car in the opening half of the season—at the same time that his teammate has shed the disciplined, nearly perfect composure that had for so long made him seem to be a future title winner. Importantly, Norris kept a impressive level of composure all along, insisting despite challenges—such as his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his strategy and approach each session with the same relentless focus on specifics. This approach has paid off.

Meanwhile, the team have worked hard to attempt to maintain a fair competition for their two drivers, and it has on occasion been something of difficult experience, especially at Monza when the squad directed the Australian to surrender second place to Norris following he had fallen behind due to a delayed tire change. Certain spectators were unhappy with what was seen as the team needlessly manipulating their drivers.

Norris has won the last two races, in Mexico and Brazil, and was booed on the podium at both, yet he remained unmoved. "Once you are leading, a lot of people want to undermine you. They don't like seeing you winning. I see it as a positive sign," he remarked.

"It just makes me laugh. When I was on the winner's stage in Interlagos, I really loved it. It was very enjoyable. You finally feel like you're doing success.

"It doesn't bother me, provided that I win. If I feel like I am competing the correct way, and I think I am, as long as I feel like I'm putting hard work into being who I am and similar principles, then I am not concerned about external opinions."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, must be conquered, and it is not a track ideal for the British team. It shares characteristics with Montreal and Azerbaijan: low downforce, cool temperatures, and slippery surfaces. They are the sole pair of circuits in the current championship where the papaya squad have been unable to claim a single top-three finish, and Norris was circumspect once more about their prospects this weekend. Still, his objective in the immediate future is straightforward: finish in front of Piastri and the championship tally he needs will follow.

Practice Sees Mixed Results for Championship Contenders

The Ferrari driver led the times in FP1 on what was still a dusty and extremely low-grip surface. The Williams racer was second, with Verstappen fourth, the McLaren ace sixth, and the Australian eighth. During the more representative evening session of FP2, the Briton was fastest ahead of the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, with his teammate 14th; though, the practice lost nearly the last third of track time to check a suspected loose drain cover at the penultimate corner.

The issue is taken seriously on a street circuit where, at the first Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a dislodged manhole smashed into Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely damaging it and causing the session to be aborted.

Mercedes Confirm Ownership Sale

The eight-time constructors' champions have confirmed that their boss the Austrian executive has sold a 15% stake in his holding company, equating to a five percent ownership in the team, to US tycoon George Kurtz. The investor is the CEO and founder of the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. The team principal will stay on as boss and could earn up to £230 million from the deal, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57bn, a record for an Formula 1 constructor.