🔗 Share this article

Amid all excitement surrounding the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lando Norris is maintaining a calm demeanor regarding his prospects of claiming his maiden world title.

Norris currently has a two-dozen point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by nearly fifty points, with just a maximum of 83 points available across the final three events. But, after pulling off a remarkable comeback from 34 points behind his teammate after the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is focused on performing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the top of the championship.

"Things can easily go the opposite way again even though I hope it doesn't," he commented. "That's racing, you know. You can get lucky. You can end up unlucky. Whatever it may be. There's really no point becoming overjoyed or dwelling on it. I still do see it as a goal that's quite far away."

The 26-year-old has found his peak performance at a critical juncture—having struggled with the car in the first part of the season—while Piastri has shed the disciplined, nearly perfect ease that had for so long made him appear to be a champion in waiting. Importantly, Norris kept a impressive level of composure all along, asserting even in the face of challenges—such as his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would adhere to his strategy and approach each session with the identical unwavering focus on specifics. It has yielded results.

Meanwhile, the team have worked hard to attempt to preserve a fair competition for their pair of racers, and it has at times been something of torturous experience, especially at the Italian Grand Prix when the team instructed the Australian to surrender second place to his teammate after he had lost the spot due to a delayed tire change. Some fans did not take well to what was considered the team needlessly manipulating their drivers.

Norris has claimed victory in the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico and Brazil, and was jeered on the winner's rostrum at both, yet he remained unfazed. "Once you are leading, many people want to undermine you. They do not want to see you winning. I consider it a good thing," he said.

"It just amuses me. When I was on the podium in Interlagos, I truly loved it. The experience was very satisfying. At last you feel like you are achieving success.

"I don't mind, as long as I win. As long as I feel like I am competing the correct manner, and I think that's the case, as long as I am confident I'm putting hard work into being who I am and similar principles, then I am not concerned about the rest of it."

Las Vegas, on the other hand, needs to be conquered, and it is not a track suited to the British team. The layout has characteristics with Canada and Baku: minimal aerodynamic grip, chilly conditions, and slippery surfaces. These are the only two tracks in the current championship where the papaya squad have been unable to claim a single top-three finish, and the leader was cautious once more about their chances in Nevada. Yet, his task in the short term is straightforward: finish in ahead of his teammate and the points he needs will come.

Friday Running Shows Varied Results for Title Rivals

The Ferrari driver led the leaderboard in FP1 on what was remained a dusty and very low-grip track. The Williams racer was runner-up, with Verstappen fourth, the McLaren ace sixth, and Piastri in eighth. During the more indicative evening session of second practice, the Briton was fastest from the Silver Arrows of Kimi Antonelli, with Piastri 14th; however, the session was interrupted for nearly the last third of running to inspect a suspected unsecured drain cover at the penultimate corner.

The issue is treated with caution on a street circuit where, at the first Nevada GP held in 2023, a dislodged drain cover smashed into Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, severely harming it and leading to the practice to be ended.

Mercedes Confirm Ownership Sale

Mercedes have revealed that their boss Toto Wolff has divested a 15% stake in his holding company, equating to a five percent ownership in the squad, to US tycoon George Kurtz. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the cybersecurity company the tech giant. The team principal will remain as team principal and could earn as much as £230m from the deal, with the Brackley-based outfit having been appraised at £4.57 billion, a new high for an Formula 1 constructor.