🔗 Share this article

Despite the hype surrounding the Sin City Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is maintaining a calm demeanor about his chances of securing his maiden world title.

The British driver presently has a 24-point advantage over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by 49 points, with only a maximum of 83 points available across the final three events. However, after pulling off a remarkable comeback from 34 points behind Piastri after the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Norris is focused on performing with the clinical precision that propelled him to the top of the championship.

"Things can quickly turn the opposite way again as much as I don't want it to," he commented. "That's racing, as we all know. Sometimes you get lucky. Other times you end up unlucky. No matter what happens. It's not worth becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I still view it as a goal that remains far away."

The 26-year-old has found his peak performance at a crucial juncture—after difficulties with the car in the first part of the season—while his teammate has lost the controlled, almost flawless ease that had for so long made him appear to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris maintained a remarkable level of equanimity throughout, insisting even in the face of challenges—like his retirement from the Zandvoort race—that he would stick to his gameplan and approach every outing with the same unwavering attention to detail. It has yielded results.

Meanwhile, the team have gone to no little effort to attempt to maintain a level playing field for their two drivers, and it has on occasion been a rather torturous process, especially at Monza when the squad directed the Australian to surrender second place to Norris following he had lost the spot because of a delayed tire change. Some fans were unhappy with what was seen as the team unnecessarily manipulating their drivers.

The championship leader has claimed victory in the last two races, in Mexico City and Brazil, and was jeered on the winner's rostrum at each, yet he remained unmoved. "Once you are on top, many individuals want to undermine you. They do not like seeing you succeeding. I see it as a good thing," he remarked.

"It makes me laugh. While standing on the winner's stage in Interlagos, I really loved it. The experience was very satisfying. You finally sense that you are achieving something right.

"It doesn't bother me, as long as I win. If I believe I am competing the correct way, which I feel like that's the case, so long as I feel like I am dedicating effort into being who I am and similar principles, then I'm not too fussed about the rest of it."

Vegas, meanwhile, must be conquered, and it is a circuit ideal for the British team. The layout has characteristics with Canada and Azerbaijan: minimal aerodynamic grip, cool temperatures, and slippery surfaces. They are the only two tracks in the current championship where McLaren have failed to claim a single podium place, and the leader was circumspect again about their chances this weekend. Yet, his task in the short term is straightforward: finish in front of his teammate and the points he requires will come.

Practice Sees Mixed Outcomes for Championship Rivals

Charles Leclerc topped the times in FP1 on what was still a dusty and extremely slippery track. Alex Albon was second, with the Red Bull star fourth, Norris sixth, and the Australian in eighth. In the more representative night running of FP2, the Briton was quickest from the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with Piastri down in fourteenth; though, the practice was interrupted for nearly the final 20 minutes of track time to inspect a reported unsecured manhole cover at the penultimate corner.

This problem is taken seriously on a temporary track where, at the first Nevada GP held in 2023, a dislodged drain cover struck Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely damaging it and causing the practice to be aborted.

The German Team Announce Ownership Transaction

The eight-time constructors' champions have revealed that their boss the Austrian executive has sold a 15% stake in his investment firm, representing a 5% share in the team, to US tycoon the cybersecurity magnate. Kurtz is the CEO and founder of the digital protection firm the tech giant. The team principal will remain as team principal and could earn as much as £230 million from the deal, with the Brackley-based outfit having been appraised at £4.57bn, a record for an Formula 1 constructor.