Norris eyes Vegas prize but weighs question of risk v reward

Lando Norris’ mind was at ease as he neared his first world title after taking the lead in the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

With his fastest lap of the day, Norris masterfully navigated the choppy wet conditions on a track that was almost gripless, taking pole position from Max Verstappen. This gap could have been much wider had the Briton not experienced a significant wobble through the chicane at the end of the Strip.

Norris leads McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri by 49 points going into the race over Verstappen’s fifth-place finish. He has argued all year that he should continue to compete in the same race one at a time and doesn’t alter his style as the championship progresses.

However, it appeared that Verstappen, who is renowned for his aggressive approach to starts, was already considering the issue of risk versus reward in the post-qualifying news conference, leaving him with little to lose.

Norris remarked, “I’m here to win.” I’m not here to take any chances. I’m still hoping to win. I’ll make sure I’m able to accomplish everything.

“But it’s still one step at a time: start well, have a good opening lap, and similar things,” and then just move on.

Even for someone who tries not to think about it, the prize on offer for Norris in the grand prix on Saturday night in Sin City is obvious.

If he wins the race, he could almost take the title.

The Briton is already nearly certain to win the championship ahead of Piastri. With just one race left, he could travel to Qatar the following weekend in a position to claim the title.

Given how large his deficit is, Verstappen is already largely out of the mix. However, the Red Bull driver will no longer be able to mathematically claim the title if Norris can score nine points on the Dutchman, which is not easy, with seven in between first place and second place.

Norris is only thinking about the immediate task ahead, Verstappen’s threat of victory, and more immediately, the threat Verstappen poses for victory, while more importantly, he is trying to think about the race to the corner.

The four-time champion is in the lead, and if he continues to run well, he might as well try to push Norris wide on the entry to take the lead like he did with Charles Leclerc in the first race here in 2023.

One of Norris’ pole’s highlights was his pole. The circumstances were incredibly challenging.

The track loses grip in the dry, run like it does on regular roads, where millions of cars are driven by them year-round.

The first two sessions of this race were done using extreme tyres because the track had never previously been wet and the water had never been used.

Norris had looked quick all weekend, but he never looked particularly bright when the track was wet. Never once did look particularly promising when the track was in danger of failing.

Norris set the pace, however, once the track was dry enough for intermediates in the final session.

His final lap was stunning up until his brief but unexpectedly unexpected lap, which McLaren team principal Andrea Stella described as “exceptional.”

These were “some of the worst” things Norris has ever gone through, he claimed.

He claimed that “it’s been wetter.” Simply put, it feels like you could as well have taken a ride on slicks because it was so challenging and slippery.

The “white lines, the yellow lines, the amount of wheelspin you have in places,” the author writes, “everything was pretty difficult.”

Regarding his team-mate, things are just not going his way right now.

Piastri has had a championship lead for too long, leading only to lose in just two races in Mexico and Brazil. One race involved a crash in the sprint and a controversial penalty in the grand prix, and the other involved a controversial penalty in the grand prix.

He had a chance to advance to the final session because Lance Stroll’s aggressiveness had hindered him because he might have otherwise defeated Piastri had he been competitive.

However, the Australian had to back off in his final run in Las Vegas after encountering a yellow flag on the way home. With his team-mate on pole, Fifth was a letdown.

He was hardly ever willing to admit that the difficulty of regaining points and trying to keep the title alive increased as a result.

” Yes, “Piastri said”. Yes, it does. However, there are many things going on since Las Vegas is after all.

With Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Kimi Raikkonen, and Michael Schumacher, Stella has won both title fights at Ferrari, winning and losing. And he has long since learned to respect other people’s opinions.

His wisdom will guide Norris as he navigates the race, and it is his wisdom that has helped McLaren get where they are right now.

“We do take one race at a time, one session at a time, one start at a time,” Stella said, “and I think Lando has been doing this very well recently, starting from pole position.

So, all he needs to do is carry on doing what he’s been doing with confidence, good preparation, and the smoothest possible execution.

“We are aware that the grip will be very low once the cold tires are introduced in corners one and three.”