The Las Vegas Grand Prix is, one way or another, going to be a pivotal moment in the Formula 1 title race, with three protagonists still vying for glory.
Lando Norris is in the strongest position by far, leading the championship by 24 points from Oscar Piastri, and four places separate them on the grid in Sin City.
Norris took pole with a calm, measured and fast lap on the slippery surface in a chaotically wet qualifying session, with Piastri forced to settle for fifth place.
The outsider, Max Verstappen, is second alongside Norris. With his points disadvantage, Norris might be afforded the chance to relax even if the Dutchman beats him into Turn 1.
And if one is so inclined to deploy every gambling metaphor under the sun – or is that the neon lights? – in Vegas, Norris potentially has the luxury of being able to choose whether to stick or twist.
Lap 1 could be crucial, and that is where the three men will be given the hands with which they will be forced to play.
If Norris can make it into the first corner first, he will be in the position of ‘dealer’s choice’, but Verstappen could prove to be the joker in the pack if he makes it by Norris, potentially leaving him vulnerable to Piastri, whose current position renders him forced to roll the dice.
Verstappen, who has successfully walked away with the jackpot the last four seasons, acts as if he is just playing for fun, given his mathematical but ultimately unrealistic shot at a fifth title.
“I mean, with a lot of luck till the end — but I’m not thinking about it,” he said to media including Motorsport Week on Thursday.
Norris keen to ‘stay out of chaos’ and treat it as if he ‘is not in the championship
“It’s a lot of points, and I just want to have a good weekend, good weekends till the end. And then, yeah, after Abu Dhabi, we close the book, have a bit of time off, and we go again next year.”
Piastri is aware that he, whilst still ahead of Verstappen, is on the back foot, given that Norris can win the championship without even having to win another race this year.
When asked if Piastri will try and win every single race himself, he replied to media including Motorsport Week: “It would certainly help but I think for me you know the best thing I can do and what I try and do every weekend is just get the most performance out of myself and the car and if I can do that then I can put myself in the best position to try and win the race and that’ll help me with the championship.
“So that’s kind of all I’m focused on at the moment, all I have been focused on really and yeah that’s not going to change.
“Obviously it’s going to be difficult now to try and win but you know the mentality of trying to go into each weekend getting the most out of it is still exactly the same.”
For Norris, there is the leeway, on paper at least, that he can take his foot off the gas somewhat, but is intending to treat it like the title is not really in his mind.
“No. I mean, what’s done me so well the last few weekends is by going flat, staying out of trouble, staying out of the chaos behind,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“It’s almost a safer bet in terms of pushing. So I think it’s not the right mindset to have. I come here this weekend to try and win. I’ll go to Qatar to try and win. I still treat it as if I’m not in a championship – I’m just here to try and win this weekend, and that’s the mentality I’ll have.
“Of course, when you’re on track, you make different decisions depending on risk levels and things like that. But I feel like my judgement of that generally is pretty good and pretty accurate.
“So I’m happy. Yeah, for me, it’s another race weekend. Nothing changes because of whatever points I’ve got.”
READ MORE – Where Lando Norris came ‘close’ to losing F1 Las Vegas GP pole
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