🔗 Share this article

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

Norris presently has a 24-point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by 49 points, with just up to 83 points up for grabs across the remaining trio of races. But, after pulling off a remarkable comeback from a significant deficit his teammate following the Zandvoort race in August, Norris is concentrating on performing with the methodical approach that propelled him to the lead of the championship.

"Things can easily go in the other direction again as much as I hope it doesn't," he commented. "That's racing, as we all know. You can also have luck. You can also be unlucky. No matter what happens. It's no point becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I continue to view it as a goal that's quite distant."

The 26-year-old 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 controlled, nearly flawless composure that had for so long made him seem to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris maintained a impressive level of equanimity throughout, 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. This approach has yielded results.

Meanwhile, McLaren have worked hard to try to preserve a fair competition for their pair of racers, and it has at times been something of torturous experience, most notably at Monza when the squad directed Piastri to cede second place to Norris after he had lost the spot due to a slow pit stop. Some fans were unhappy with what was considered McLaren unnecessarily manipulating their competitors.

Norris has won the last two races, in Mexico and São Paulo, and was jeered on the winner's rostrum at both, leaving him unmoved. "When you're leading, many people try to undermine you. They do not want to see you succeeding. I see it as a good thing," he said.

"It makes me laugh. While standing on the podium in Brazil, I truly enjoyed it. The experience was very satisfying. You finally sense that you're doing success.

"It doesn't bother me, as long as I come out on top. If I believe I'm doing it the correct manner, and I think that's the case, so long as I am confident I am dedicating hard work into remaining true to myself and those kinds of things, then I am not concerned about external opinions."

Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be conquered, and it is not a track ideal for the McLaren. The layout has similarities with Canada and Baku: minimal aerodynamic grip, cool temperatures, and low grip. They are the only two tracks in the current championship where the papaya squad have failed to claim a single podium place, and the leader was cautious again about their chances this weekend. Still, his task in the immediate future is simple: finish in front of his teammate and the championship tally he requires will come.

Friday Running Shows Mixed Outcomes for Title Rivals

The Ferrari driver topped the leaderboard in first practice on what was still a sandy and very low-grip track. Alex Albon was second, with the Red Bull star fourth, Norris in P6, and Piastri in eighth. During the more representative evening session of FP2, Norris was quickest ahead of the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with Piastri down in fourteenth; however, the practice lost nearly the final 20 minutes of running to check a suspected loose drain cover at the penultimate corner.

The issue is taken seriously on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Nevada GP staged in 2023, a loose manhole smashed into Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, heavily harming it and leading to the session to be ended.

Mercedes Announce Ownership Transaction

The eight-time constructors' champions have revealed that their team principal Toto Wolff has sold a fifteen percent share in his investment firm, equating to a 5% share in the squad, to American billionaire George Kurtz. Kurtz is the CEO and founder of the digital protection firm the tech giant. The team principal will remain as boss and could earn up to £230 million from the deal, with the Brackley-based outfit having been appraised at £4.57bn, a new high for an Formula 1 constructor.