There are only 3 races left this season and a drop in Oscar Piastri's drives has given Lando Norris a comfortable lead, but who will dominate this weekend?

Las Vegas. A race weekend that eludes chatter on and off the track. Leading up to the weekend, the one subject on every fans’ tongue is the drivers’ championship fight.

Up until just a few races ago, it was so clear that Oscar Piastri was the one to beat. His cool, clear, calculated drives and persona were admirable, and he was indeed worthy of being the championship leader. However the issue was that he was so cool, clear and calculated that we forgot this is only his third year in Formula one and he was (still is) in his first drivers championship fight. As impressive as that is, it certainly comes with a lot of pressure!

While some people talk about a McLaren sabotage in favour of their ‘golden boy Lando’ and that something must be wrong with his (Oscar) car, I think it is simply a case of hitting a plateau. The Australian driver has done incredible and is no doubt deserving of the championship however he is a human driving A LOT of races throughout the year at peak level. His weekend at Baku was when things started to shift and it was described by him as the ‘worse weekend I had in racing’. Unfortunately, it didn’t really get better after that. This consequently allowed Lando Norris to creep up the points ladder and overtake him as Championship leader in Mexico.

Lando Norris is no stranger to a championship fight after being in contention for the title last season against Max Verstappen. However, there were two main struggles which he needed work on and that was his mental strength to deal with the pressure and outside noise, and his race starts. It is evident that those two issues have been acknowledged and worked on and we now have a much more well-rounded driver who is also very deserving of the championship title. His race starts was faultless in both the sprint and main race in Brazil where he led the races accumulating points to his championship title fight. 24 more points ahead of Oscar Piastri to be exact.

His responses to the media also show a much more self-confident person, which is a very difficult trait for any athlete to achieve. When a reporter asked him on his opinion of being labelled as ‘the favourite’, it was his response, “you’re very right to have your own opinion on what you think I should say and what I should not say and whatever, but I’ll do what I like” that showed his shift in mentality. His words have always been blunt and, in some cases, too honest but the message of these words highlights his shift in mindset. He is making it clear that he is not letting the outside noise get into his head. He is confident in the facts and his abilities, and it shows. The driver also suffered a wave of ‘boos’ from the crowds in recent races which could easily get into the head of any athlete, but Lando Norris has come far and done very well to differentiate and understand that the people’s opinions do not need to define his skills on track. His growth as a driver and athlete has been incredible to watch.

This week leads to the flashy streets of Las Vegas where we will eagerly wait and see if Oscar Piastri can get his focus back to bare it all on track or if Lando Norris will lead once again extending his chances to become world champion. We mustn’t forget Max Verstappen who is technically also still in the fight. He is a driver who embodies impeccable skills and is capable of surprising us all just

as he did in Brazil driving from the pitlane to the podium.

There may only be 3 races left but the fight is still on.