🔗 Share this article

Amid all excitement around the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lando Norris is maintaining a level head about his prospects of claiming his maiden drivers' championship.

Norris currently holds a 24-point advantage over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with just up to 83 points up for grabs across the final three events. But, after staging a extraordinary recovery from 34 points behind Piastri following the Zandvoort race in August, Norris is focused on executing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the lead of the standings.

"It can easily turn in the other direction again as much as I hope it doesn't," he commented. "That's racing, as we all know. Sometimes you get lucky. Other times you end up unlucky. No matter what happens. There's really not worth becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I continue to view it as something that's quite distant."

Norris has discovered his peak performance at a critical juncture—after difficulties with the vehicle in the first part of the season—at the same time that his teammate has lost the disciplined, nearly perfect ease that previously made him appear to be a champion in waiting. Notably, Norris maintained a remarkable level of equanimity all along, insisting even in the face of setbacks—like his withdrawal from the Zandvoort race—that he would adhere to his strategy and approach every outing with the identical relentless focus on specifics. It has paid off.

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 experience, most notably at Monza when the squad directed Piastri to cede second place to Norris after he had lost the spot because of a delayed tire change. Certain spectators were unhappy with what was seen as the team needlessly interfering with their competitors.

The championship leader has claimed victory in the last two grands prix, in Mexico City and Brazil, and was booed on the winner's rostrum at each, yet he remained unmoved. "When you're on top, many people try to undermine you. They do not like seeing you succeeding. I consider it a good thing," he remarked.

"It just amuses me. When I was on the winner's stage in Interlagos, I truly loved it. It was very enjoyable. At last you feel like you are achieving something right.

"I don't mind, provided that I win. As long as 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'm not too fussed with external opinions."

Vegas, meanwhile, must be mastered, and it is not a track ideal for the British team. The layout has similarities with Montreal and Baku: low downforce, cool temperatures, and slippery surfaces. They are the sole pair of circuits this season where the papaya squad have been unable to secure a single podium place, and the leader was circumspect again about their prospects in Nevada. Still, his objective in the immediate future is straightforward: end the race in ahead of Piastri and the championship tally he needs will come.

Friday Running Sees Mixed Outcomes for Championship Contenders

The Ferrari driver topped the leaderboard in FP1 on what was still a dusty and very low-grip track. Alex Albon was second, with Verstappen in fourth, Norris sixth, and the Australian in eighth. In the more indicative evening session of FP2, Norris was quickest from the Mercedes of the Italian rookie, with his teammate 14th; however, the session lost almost all of the last third of running to check a suspected unsecured manhole cover at turn 17.

The issue is treated with caution on a street circuit where, at the inaugural Nevada GP staged in 2023, a loose drain cover struck Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, heavily harming it and leading to the practice to be ended.

Mercedes Confirm Ownership Sale

Mercedes have confirmed that their team principal Toto Wolff has sold a 15% stake in his holding company, representing a five percent ownership in the team, to US tycoon the cybersecurity magnate. Kurtz is the CEO and founder of the digital protection firm the tech giant. Wolff will stay on as boss and could earn up to £230 million from the sale, with Mercedes having been valued at £4.57bn, a record for an Formula 1 constructor.