Las Vegas Grand Prix: Lando Norris eyes the prize but ponders the issue of risk versus reward

The struggle on Lando Norris’ mind as he approaches his first world title was clear after his pole position at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Norris expertly navigated the treacherous wet conditions on an almost grip-free track to take pole position ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 0.323 seconds – a gap that would have been much larger had the Briton not had a huge wobble through the chicane at the end of the track on his fastest lap.

Norris enters the race 24 points ahead of his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, who will start in fifth place, and 49 points behind Verstappen. Throughout the year, as the championship has developed, he has insisted that he takes the first race of the season every time, and does not change his approach.

But in the press conference following qualifying, it appeared he was already considering the issue of risk versus reward, with Verstappen, famous for his aggressive approach at the start, on the side with little to lose.

“I’m here to win. I’m not here to not take risks. I still want to go out and win. So I’m going to make sure I can do everything I can,” Norris said.

“But it’s still one step at a time – get a good start, good opening lap, that kind of thing – and go from there.”

The prize on offer for Norris in Saturday night’s Grand Prix in Sin City (04:00 GMT Sunday) is clear, even for someone trying not to think about it.

Win the race, and he can put himself on the brink of the title.

The Briton has already achieved an almost clear victory over Piastri in the tournament. If he makes further progress, he could go to Qatar next weekend in a position to win the title with one race to go.

Verstappen is already largely out of contention, given the size of his deficit. But if Norris can pick up nine points over the Dutchman – which is no easy feat, with seven points between victory and second place – then the Red Bull driver will mathematically not win the title.

Norris is still just trying to think about the immediate task ahead of him, the threat Verstappen poses to victory and, more urgently, going into Turn 1.

The four-time champion is on the inside line, and if he sticks to form he may try to push Norris wide on the entry to claim the lead, as he did to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the opening race here in 2023.

“He was fast, and if you expect anything less from him, you don’t know what he’s capable of,” Norris said. “So, yeah, I expect a battle. I expect a battle throughout the entire race.”