🔗 Share this article

Amid the hype around the Sin City Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is keeping a calm demeanor about his prospects of securing his maiden world title.

Norris currently holds a two-dozen point lead over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with only up to eighty-three points up for grabs across the remaining trio of events. However, after staging a extraordinary recovery from a significant deficit Piastri after the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Norris is concentrating on executing with the methodical approach that lifted him to the lead of the standings.

"Things can easily turn the opposite way again even though I don't want it to," he stated. "That's motorsport, you know. Sometimes you also have luck. Other times you also be unfortunate. No matter what happens. It's not worth becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I still view it as a goal that remains distant."

The 26-year-old has discovered his best form at a crucial juncture—having struggled with the vehicle in the opening half of the campaign—while Piastri has lost the disciplined, nearly perfect composure that previously made him appear to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris kept a impressive level of equanimity all along, asserting despite challenges—like his retirement from the Zandvoort race—that he would stick to his gameplan and approach every outing with the same unwavering focus on specifics. This approach has yielded results.

Meanwhile, the team have gone to no little effort to attempt to preserve a fair competition for their pair of racers, and it has at times been something of torturous process, most notably at Monza when the squad instructed Piastri to cede second place to his teammate after he had fallen behind because of a delayed tire change. Certain spectators did not take well to what was considered the team unnecessarily interfering with their drivers.

Norris has won the last two grands prix, in Mexico City and São Paulo, and was jeered on the winner's rostrum at each, yet he remained unmoved. "When you're leading, many people want to bring you down. They do not want to see you succeeding. I consider it a good thing," he said.

"It makes me laugh. While standing on the podium in Brazil, I really loved it. It was quite enjoyable. You finally feel like you're doing success.

"It doesn't bother me, provided that I win. If I feel like I'm doing it the right way, and I think that's the case, so long as I feel like I'm putting hard work into remaining true to myself and similar principles, then I'm not too fussed about external opinions."

Vegas, on the other hand, must be conquered, and it is not a track suited to the McLaren. The layout has characteristics with Montreal and Baku: minimal aerodynamic grip, cool temperatures, and slippery surfaces. These are the only two tracks this season where McLaren have failed to secure a single podium place, and the leader was circumspect again about their chances this weekend. Still, his objective in the immediate future is straightforward: end the race in front of Piastri and the championship tally he requires will follow.

Friday Running Sees Mixed Results for Title Contenders

Charles Leclerc led the times in first practice on what was still a sandy and extremely slippery surface. The Williams racer was second, with the Red Bull star in fourth, Norris sixth, and the Australian in eighth. During the more indicative evening session of second practice, Norris was quickest ahead of the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with his teammate down in fourteenth; however, the session was interrupted for nearly the final 20 minutes of track time to inspect a suspected unsecured drain cover at turn 17.

The issue is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the first Nevada GP staged in 2023, a loose manhole struck Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, heavily damaging it and leading to the session to be ended.

The German Team Confirm Stake Sale

Mercedes have revealed that their team principal the Austrian executive has sold a fifteen percent share in his investment firm, equating to a 5% share in the team, to US tycoon George Kurtz. The investor 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 £230m from the sale, with Mercedes having been appraised at £4.57bn, a record for an F1 team.