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Despite the excitement around the Sin City Grand Prix, Lando Norris is maintaining a level head about his chances of securing his maiden drivers' championship.

Norris presently holds a two-dozen point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri and is ahead of Max Verstappen by 49 points, with only up to eighty-three points available across the final three events. However, after pulling off a remarkable comeback from 34 points behind his teammate following the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is focused on executing with the methodical approach that propelled him to the top of the standings.

"It can easily go the opposite way again even though I don't want it to," he stated. "That's racing, you know. You can get lucky. Other times you end up unfortunate. No matter what happens. There's really not worth becoming overjoyed or dwelling on it. I still do see it as something that remains distant."

The 26-year-old has discovered his best form at a critical juncture—having struggled with the car in the first part of the season—at the same time that his teammate has shed the disciplined, almost perfect composure that previously made him seem to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris maintained a impressive level of equanimity throughout, insisting despite challenges—like his retirement from the Dutch GP—that he would adhere to his strategy and approach every outing with the same unwavering attention to detail. It has paid off.

Meanwhile, the team have gone to no little effort to try to preserve a fair competition for their two drivers, and it has at times been a rather difficult process, especially at the Italian Grand Prix when the squad directed the Australian to cede the runner-up spot 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 unnecessarily manipulating their competitors.

The championship leader has won the previous pair of grands prix, in Mexico City and São Paulo, and was booed on the podium at both, leaving him unmoved. "Once you are on top, a lot of individuals try to bring you down. They don't want to see you winning. I see it as a good thing," he said.

"It makes me laugh. When I was on the podium in Interlagos, I really loved it. It was quite enjoyable. At last you feel like you're doing something right.

"I don't mind, as long as I come out on top. As long as I believe I'm doing it the correct manner, which I feel like that's the case, as long as I feel like I'm putting effort into being who I am and similar principles, then I'm not too fussed with the rest of it."

Vegas, meanwhile, must be conquered, and it is a circuit suited to the British team. It shares characteristics with Canada and Azerbaijan: low downforce, cool temperatures, and low grip. These are the sole pair of tracks this season where the papaya squad have been unable to secure a single podium place, and the leader was circumspect again about their chances this weekend. Still, his task in the short term is straightforward: end the race in ahead of Piastri and the points he requires will come.

Practice Sees Mixed Results for Title Rivals

The Ferrari driver topped the leaderboard in FP1 on what was remained a dusty and extremely low-grip surface. The Williams racer was second, with Verstappen fourth, Norris sixth, and Piastri eighth. In the more indicative night running of second practice, the Briton was fastest ahead of the Mercedes of the Italian rookie, with his teammate 14th; however, the practice was interrupted for almost all of the final 20 minutes of running to inspect a reported loose manhole cover at the penultimate corner.

The issue is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the first Las Vegas GP staged in 2023, a dislodged manhole smashed into the Ferrari, severely harming it and leading to the session to be aborted.

Mercedes Announce Ownership Sale

Mercedes have revealed that their boss Toto Wolff has sold a fifteen percent share in his holding company, equating to a five percent ownership in the team, to US tycoon the cybersecurity magnate. Kurtz is the chief executive and creator of the digital protection firm the tech giant. Wolff will remain as boss and could earn as much as £230 million from the deal, with the Brackley-based outfit having been valued at £4.57 billion, a record for an F1 team.