🔗 Share this article

Despite the hype around the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lando Norris is keeping a level head regarding his prospects of securing his first world title.

Norris presently has a two-dozen point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads 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 comeback from a significant deficit Piastri after the Dutch Grand Prix in the summer, Norris is focused on performing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the top of the standings.

"Things can quickly go in the other direction once more as much as I hope it doesn't," he stated. "That's racing, you know. You can also have luck. Other times you also be unlucky. Whatever it may be. There's really not worth getting excited or dwelling on it. I continue to view it as something that's quite far away."

The 26-year-old has discovered his best form at a critical juncture—having struggled with the vehicle in the first part of the season—at the same time that his teammate has shed the disciplined, nearly flawless ease that previously made him appear to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris kept a remarkable level of equanimity all along, asserting even in the face of setbacks—like his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his strategy and approach every outing with the identical unwavering attention to detail. This approach has yielded results.

Meanwhile, McLaren have worked hard to try to maintain a level playing field for their pair of racers, and it has at times been a rather difficult experience, especially at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad directed Piastri to cede the runner-up spot to Norris following he had lost the spot due to a slow pit stop. Certain spectators were unhappy with what was considered the team needlessly manipulating their competitors.

Norris has won the last two grands prix, in Mexico and Brazil, and was booed on the podium at both, yet he remained unmoved. "Once you are leading, a lot of people try to undermine you. They don't want to see you winning. I consider it a good thing," he said.

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

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

Vegas, on the other hand, must be mastered, and it is not a track ideal for the McLaren. The layout has similarities with Montreal and Baku: minimal aerodynamic grip, cool temperatures, and slippery surfaces. They are the sole pair of tracks this season where the papaya squad have failed to secure at least one podium place, and the leader was circumspect once more about their chances in Nevada. Still, his objective in the short term is straightforward: finish in front of Piastri and the championship tally he requires will follow.

Practice Sees Varied Results for Title Rivals

Charles Leclerc led the times in FP1 on what was still a dusty and extremely low-grip surface. The Williams racer was runner-up, with the Red Bull star fourth, Norris sixth, and the Australian eighth. During the more indicative night running of second practice, Norris was fastest from the Silver Arrows of the Italian rookie, with Piastri down in fourteenth; though, the session lost nearly the last third of track time to check a suspected loose manhole cover at the penultimate corner.

This problem is taken seriously on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Las Vegas GP held in 2023, a dislodged manhole smashed into Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely damaging it and leading to the session to be aborted.

The German Team Announce Ownership Sale

The eight-time constructors' champions have revealed that their team principal the Austrian executive has sold a 15% stake in his holding company, representing a 5% share in the team, to US tycoon the cybersecurity magnate. Kurtz is the CEO and founder of the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. The team principal will remain as boss and may receive up to £230m from the deal, with the Brackley-based outfit having been appraised at £4.57bn, a new high for an F1 team.