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Despite the hype around the Sin City Grand Prix, Lando Norris is maintaining a level head regarding his prospects of securing his maiden drivers' championship.

The British driver presently has a two-dozen point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by 49 points, with only a maximum of 83 points up for grabs across the final three events. However, after pulling off a remarkable recovery from 34 points behind his teammate after the Zandvoort race in August, Norris is concentrating on performing with the clinical precision that lifted him to the top of the standings.

"It can quickly turn in the other direction 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 unfortunate. No matter what happens. It's no point becoming overjoyed or thinking about it. I continue to view it as something that remains 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 campaign—while Piastri has shed the controlled, almost flawless composure that previously made him seem to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris kept a impressive level of composure throughout, insisting despite setbacks—like his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his gameplan and work every outing with the same unwavering attention to detail. It has paid off.

Meanwhile, the team have worked hard to attempt to preserve a level playing field for their two drivers, and it has at times been a rather torturous process, most notably at Monza when the team instructed Piastri to cede the runner-up spot to Norris after he had lost the spot because of a slow pit stop. Certain spectators did not take well to what was considered McLaren unnecessarily interfering with their competitors.

Norris has won the last two races, in Mexico City and Brazil, and was jeered on the podium at both, leaving him unfazed. "Once you are leading, a lot of individuals try to bring you down. They do not like seeing you succeeding. I see it as a good thing," he said.

"It makes me laugh. When I was on the winner's stage in Brazil, I truly enjoyed it. The experience was very enjoyable. You finally feel like you are achieving success.

"I don't mind, provided that I win. As long as I believe I'm doing it the correct way, which I feel like that's the case, as long as I am confident I'm putting effort into remaining true to myself and similar principles, then I'm not too fussed with the rest of it."

Las Vegas, meanwhile, must be conquered, and it is not a track ideal for the British team. The layout has characteristics with Montreal and Azerbaijan: minimal aerodynamic grip, chilly conditions, and low grip. These are the sole pair of tracks this season where McLaren have failed to secure a single top-three finish, and the leader was cautious again about their chances this weekend. Still, his task in the immediate future is straightforward: finish in ahead of his teammate and the championship tally he needs will follow.

Practice Sees Mixed Outcomes for Title Rivals

Charles Leclerc led the times in first practice on what was still a sandy and very low-grip track. The Williams racer was runner-up, with the Red Bull star in fourth, Norris sixth, and the Australian in eighth. In the more indicative night running of second practice, Norris was quickest from the Mercedes of the Italian rookie, with his teammate 14th; though, the practice was interrupted for almost all of the final 20 minutes of track time to inspect a suspected loose drain cover at the penultimate corner.

This problem is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the inaugural Nevada GP staged in 2023, a loose manhole smashed into the Ferrari, severely harming it and causing the practice to be aborted.

The German Team Confirm Stake Sale

The eight-time constructors' champions have confirmed that their boss the Austrian executive has divested a 15% stake in his holding company, equating to a 5% share in the team, to American billionaire the cybersecurity magnate. Kurtz is the chief executive and creator of the digital protection firm CrowdStrike. The team principal will remain as team principal and may receive up to £230 million from the sale, with the Brackley-based outfit having been valued at £4.57 billion, a record for an F1 team.