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Despite the hype surrounding the Sin City Grand Prix, McLaren's lead driver is keeping a level head regarding his prospects of claiming his maiden drivers' championship.

Norris presently holds a 24-point advantage over fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and leads Max Verstappen by 49 points, with only up to 83 points up for grabs across the final three events. But, after pulling off a extraordinary recovery from 34 points behind Piastri after the Zandvoort race in the summer, Norris is concentrating on executing with the methodical approach that propelled him to the lead of the standings.

"Things can quickly go the opposite way once more as much as I don't want it to," he stated. "That's racing, you know. You can also have luck. You can end up unlucky. Whatever it may be. It's not worth becoming overjoyed or dwelling on it. I still do see it as a goal that's quite distant."

Norris has found his best form at a critical moment—having struggled with the vehicle in the first part of the campaign—while Piastri has shed the disciplined, nearly perfect ease that had for so long made him appear to be a future title winner. Notably, Norris maintained a remarkable level of composure throughout, asserting despite challenges—such as his withdrawal from the Dutch GP—that he would stick to his gameplan and work each session with the identical relentless focus on specifics. It has paid off.

Meanwhile, the team have gone to no little effort to try to preserve a level playing field for their pair of racers, and it has on occasion been a rather torturous experience, most notably at the Italian Grand Prix when the team instructed Piastri to surrender the runner-up spot to his teammate following he had lost the spot because of a delayed tire change. Some fans were unhappy with what was seen as McLaren needlessly manipulating their competitors.

Norris has won the last two races, in Mexico and São Paulo, and was jeered on the podium at each, leaving him unmoved. "Once you are on top, a lot of individuals want to bring you down. They don't like seeing you succeeding. I consider it a positive sign," he said.

"It just amuses me. When I was on the podium in Interlagos, I really loved it. The experience was very enjoyable. You finally sense that you are achieving something right.

"It doesn't bother me, as long as I win. As long as I feel like I am competing the correct way, which I feel like I am, as long as I feel like I'm putting effort into remaining true to myself and similar principles, then I am not concerned about external opinions."

Vegas, meanwhile, needs to be mastered, and it is a circuit suited to the McLaren. It shares characteristics with Canada and Baku: minimal aerodynamic grip, cool temperatures, and slippery surfaces. These are the only two circuits in the current championship where McLaren have failed to claim a single top-three finish, and Norris was cautious again about their chances in Nevada. Still, his task in the short term is simple: end the race in ahead of Piastri and the championship tally he needs will follow.

Practice Sees Varied Results for Championship Rivals

Charles Leclerc led the leaderboard in FP1 on what was remained a sandy and extremely slippery surface. The Williams racer was runner-up, with Verstappen in fourth, the McLaren ace in P6, and Piastri eighth. During the more representative evening session of FP2, Norris was fastest from the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, with Piastri down in fourteenth; however, the session was interrupted for nearly the last third of track time to check a reported unsecured manhole cover at turn 17.

The issue is treated with caution on a temporary track where, at the first Las Vegas GP held in 2023, a dislodged manhole smashed into Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, heavily harming it and causing the session to be ended.

Mercedes Confirm Stake Sale

Mercedes have confirmed that their boss the Austrian executive has sold a 15% stake in his holding company, equating to a 5% share in the squad, to American billionaire George Kurtz. The investor is the chief executive and creator of the digital protection firm the tech giant. The team principal will stay on as team principal and could earn up to £230 million from the sale, with the Brackley-based outfit having been valued at £4.57bn, a record for an F1 team.