McLaren driver Oscar Piastri is targeting victory in Las Vegas on Sunday following the implosion of team-mate Lando Norris' Championship bid.

While it is still mathematically possible that Norris could catch Max Verstappen – who will secure a fourth successive title by bettering the Brit this weekend – his chances are slim.

As a result of Norris' title bid, Piastri had been under orders to prioritise his team-mate above himself. But with McLaren leading Ferrari in the constructors' championship by 36 points, it is likely focus will shift there.

"There's still some, let's say, very specific scenarios where I might be needed to help out. But for the very large majority of situations, it's back to how it was," Piastri told reporters in Las Vegas.

"The drivers' championship picture is very slim, and the constructors' championship is certainly not over for us.

"So, it's a very specific few scenarios that maybe I'll still help out if that's what I'm asked to do, but I'm going into the weekend trying to win."

Ahead of his potential coronation, Verstappen struggled on the first day of practice in Las Vegas, finishing in 17th.

Norris, meanwhile, was second-fastest behind Lewis Hamilton. Piastri finished in eighth, although bizarrely reported that his car would not turn off after reaching the pit lane, although the issue was eventually resolved.

Separately from Piastri, Norris had told reporters that – despite previous orders for Piastri to let him pass in races – the team had always come first and that would not change.

"Everything we've done, we've just swapped a position," he said.

"It benefited me because I was in the fight for the championship and that's the game we also have to play, just as I've helped Oscar in a few occasions and helped him win in Baku, you know. I did my job there.

"I think Andrea [Stella] made it very clear from the beginning that we would never do something that would make the team result worse. So no, nothing is going to change."

Lewis Hamilton has pledged to give everything in his final three races for Mercedes, despite admitting he had thoughts of an early exit after struggling at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Hamilton finished 10th in the grand prix and 11th in the sprint race in Brazil three weeks ago, then described the weekend as a "disaster" and suggested he was not averse to an early exit.

The seven-time world champion – who will join Ferrari ahead of next season – said over team radio: "If this is the last time I get to perform, it was a shame it wasn't great."

However, with just three races remaining before his 12-year stint with the Silver Arrows comes to an end, Hamilton has put those troubles behind him and is determined to finish 2024 on a high.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix, Hamilton said: "In the moment, that's how I felt. I didn't really want to come back after that weekend but that's only natural.

"In the heat of the moment, for sure I'd much rather be on the beach and chilling. I don't need to do this.

"It wasn't a great feeling in that moment but I'm here, I'm standing strong and I'm going to give it absolutely everything for these last few races.

"Nothing can take me down. I've got a team that I genuinely still love and even though I'm leaving, I want to give them the best that I can in these next races.

"If they provide a car that wants to stay on track, then hopefully we'll have a better result."

Sunday's race will take place exactly 10 years since Hamilton won the second of his seven drivers' championships, sealing his 2014 title triumph at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

He is currently seventh in the drivers' championship standings, just two points adrift of Mercedes team-mate George Russell.

Russell has won 50.26% of Mercedes' points this year to Hamilton's 49.74%. That is the smallest percentage split between any pair of team-mates in F1, with Red Bull pair Max Verstappen (72.24%) and Sergio Perez (27.76%) having the largest split.

George Russell says a number of Formula One drivers are "probably a bit fed up" of governing body FIA.

The Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), which Russell is the director for, put out a statement after the last race in Brazil to raise concerns about multiple issues.

The GDPA asked president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to "consider his own tone and language", having previously punished Max Verstappen for using bad language at a press conference.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix, Russell confirmed the FIA had yet to respond to the letter as he expressed further disappointment.

"We recognise everybody's working as hard as they can to do the best job possible," Russell told reporters. "There is obviously a huge amount of change within the FIA quite regularly, so it's clearly not the most stable of places. 

"And maybe that's why it's been a bit challenging to get some of the changes that we've wanted implemented. Of course, everyone has their own side to their own story. 

"I think if we feel that we're being listened to and some of the changes that we are experiencing, requesting, are implemented, because ultimately we're only doing it for the benefit of the sport, then maybe our confidence will increase.

"But, I think there's a number of drivers who feel probably a bit fed up with the whole situation. And it only seems to be going in, to a degree, the wrong direction."

Russell also said he and his fellow drivers were not aware of race director Niels Wittich being removed three races before the season ends.

"Talking as a fellow driver as opposed to my role with the GPDA, everybody felt with certain things that have happened that we wanted to stand united," he said.

"At the end of the day, we just want to be transparent with the FIA and have this dialogue. And the departure of Niels is a prime example of not being part of these conversations. [The letter] is kind of us putting the pressure back on them."

Carlos Sainz will team up with Williams early to drive their FW46 car in next month's post-season test in Abu Dhabi, the constructor has announced.

Sainz agreed to join Williams in July after losing his Ferrari seat to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who stunned the Formula One world by exercising a break clause in his contract with Mercedes earlier this year.

The Spaniard is currently fifth in the drivers' championship standings, with his two race wins for the year coming in Australia and Mexico.

On Friday, Williams confirmed he will join the team for post-season testing on December 10, two days after the campaign ends with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

"This early opportunity will allow both Carlos and Williams to begin building their relationship," a team statement read.

"The test session will provide a valuable chance for Carlos to begin integrating into his new team environment, and he will drive the FW46 for the first time."

Hamilton is not expected to take part in Ferrari's post-season tests, due to his ongoing commitments with Mercedes.

Carlos Sainz is confident he will continue to fight for Formula 1 wins once he leaves Ferrari for Williams at the end of the season.

The 30-year-old is now in the final stretch of his four-year stint with Ferrari, with whom he has won four races.

Sainz has three more opportunities to add to that number, starting with the Las Vegas GP next week.

While the Spaniard would love to bow out on a high with Ferrari, he does not believe joining Williams will end any hopes of further triumphs.

"Nothing would make me happier than achieving something like that before the end of the year," he said when asked if he's targeting victory across the final three races. 

"I'm going to give it my absolute best. If it comes, great, and I'll be for sure celebrating. And if it doesn't, I don't believe it will be my last chance of fighting for wins or podiums in Formula 1.

"I'll carry on working hard to try to get myself in a position – even if it's with Williams – to put myself in a position to win another race.

"That's what I'm hungry for and that's what I believe I can do, and that's what I've proven that I can do in Ferrari. So, yeah, it doesn't end there."

The most recent of Sainz's victories came at the Mexican Grand Prix last month when bouncing back from losing the lead to Max Verstappen.

Ferrari have not won a title in F1 since 2008 and are 36 points behind McLaren heading into the Las Vegas GP, which is followed by races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

However, Sainz's team-mate Charles Leclerc is hopeful of closing that gap by coming out on top in the States, having himself finished second behind Verstappen on this track last year.

"I think on paper it's a track where we should perform well," he told Sky Sports News.

"However, the fact we have improved a lot with tyre management, means on a track where it is so cold, it will be difficult to put the tyres in the right window.

"On paper, it still looks positive. Maybe not as positive as last year but seeing how close everything is, I believe we will have a shot to win it."

Lewis Hamilton says he "could happily go and take a holiday" instead of finishing the season after a dismal showing at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

He made early exits in both qualifying sessions and started the race at Interlagos from 15th on the grid.

However, unlike Max Verstappen, who impressively won the race having started in 17th, the Brit struggled to mount much of a fight, coming away from the weekend with just one point after finishing in 10th.

His performance was made to look worse as team-mate George Russell had been battling for the lead but narrowly missed out on a podium place as he finished fourth.

Hamilton only has three races left with Mercedes before his move to Ferrari next season, bringing an end to their 12-year partnership.

But he was left frustrated in Brazil, expressing his disappointment with the car.

"We were just slow," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. "The car was really, really tough. I do really want to say still a big thank you to the guys in the garage. They turned up super early this morning and still did a great job throughout the weekend.

"The team could have won also, so at least one car was behaving a lot better.

"The car is like a plank of wood. It's like no suspension.

"It's bouncing on the tyres everywhere, and you can't get on the power anywhere. It's just the worst ride, I think the worst ride that we've definitely ever had, particularly through corners. It's just so stiff.

"But hopefully we won't have any more bumpy tracks. I think the last three aren't so bumpy. But yeah, I could happily go and take a holiday."

Lando Norris said Max Verstappen benefitted from a rule "no one agrees with" as he won a dramatic Sao Paulo Grand Prix to leave the McLaren's title hopes hanging by a thread.

Verstappen surged to a terrific victory from 17th on the grid in Brazil, with Norris faltering after starting on pole.

Norris and Mercedes' George Russell – who were vying for the lead – both pitted on lap 29, but that strategy backfired as the red flag was shown following a crash involving Franco Colapinto.

With the race suspended, Verstappen was also able to change tires for the restart, negating Norris' advantage from pitting as the world champion raced to a commanding victory.

Norris had cut Verstappen's drivers' championship lead to 44 points by winning Saturday's sprint race but now sits 62 points adrift with just three races of the season remaining. 

The Brit refused to hit out at McLaren's strategy after the race, though, putting his struggles down to bad luck. 

"I have faith in the team in what they are saying and they have trust in me," he told Sky Sports F1. 

"It was just unlucky. I don't care about the hindsight side of things, that's luck for them, nothing more.

"They got lucky on a rule that no one agrees with. Probably they agreed with it today but every driver has disagreed with it in the past.

"Today it benefitted them, it could have benefitted us if we just stayed out, but that's a stupid thing to think of. 

"Just a bit unlucky today, nothing more. Of course, disappointing. Max drove well. He got a bit lucky but that's life."

Lando Norris seized pole position for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix by topping a chaotic, postponed qualifying on Sunday, while Max Verstappen will start 17th.

Qualifying was pushed back after heavy rain and thunderstorms prevented it from taking place on Saturday, with the race’s start time also brought forward by 90 minutes.

Five red flags punctuated a chaotic session as Williams pair Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon, Aston Martin duo Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz all crashed.

Norris was almost knocked out in the first session, but he recovered to beat Mercedes’ George Russell to pole, with RB’s Yuki Tsunoda third and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon fourth.

Norris said after the race: “There was a lot going on. I was struggling a lot at the start of the session, I worked on it a lot in the session. 

“A little surprised to be on pole but a good result for us.”

Verstappen, meanwhile, finished 12th but will start in 17th after taking a five-place grid penalty for the race, his fourth penalty in the last two races.

The three-time world champion was left seething about a delay in throwing the red flag following Stroll’s crash in the second session, which he believed allowed other drivers to demote him out of the top 10 before he was prevented from attempting another lap.

He could vault up the grid if some of the damaged cars are unable to start the race, though, while his long-time rival Lewis Hamilton also struggled as he qualified 16th.

Lando Norris believes Max Verstappen deserved the 20-second penalty he was hit with at the Mexican Grand Prix.

Verstappen received two separate 10-second penalties for incidents early on in Sunday's race, which was won by Carlos Sainz.

Reigning Formula One champion Verstappen was given one penalty for forcing Norris off the track at Turn Four in the 10th lap, and then another for leaving the track four corners later.

It meant Verstappen saw his lead at the top of the driver standings cut to 47 points, while Ferrari are now ahead of Red Bull in the constructor standings.

And Norris has little sympathy for his title rival.

"It was not fair, clean racing," said Norris, as reported by BBC Sport. "I think he got what he had coming to him.

"I felt like I just had to avoid collisions, and that's not what you feel like you want to do in a race.

"He's in a very powerful position in the championship. He's a long way ahead. He has nothing to lose.

"It's not my job to control him. He knows how to drive. And I'm sure he knows that today was probably a bit over the limit."

Norris and Verstappen tussled at Austin, too, but the McLaren driver wants to race clean.

"Austin, I don't think anyone should have got a penalty," he added. "Let's say we both kind of did things wrong. I feel like I was made to do something wrong.

"The majority of people, the majority of drivers feel like that was the same thing.

"That's why you've heard of some of the rule changes that might be coming and those types of things. It's because there's a common consensus that it wasn't correct what happened in the result that I had last weekend.

"Today, I think, was another level on both of those cases. I was ahead of Max in the braking zone, past the apex. I am avoiding crashing today. This is the difference. I don't see it as a win or anything like this, but it's more that I hope Max acknowledges that he took it a step too far."

"I go into every race expecting a tough battle with Max. It's clear that it doesn't matter if he wins or second, his only job is to beat me in the race. And he'll sacrifice himself to do that.

"But I want to have good battles with him. I want to have those tough battles, like I've seen him have plenty of times. But fair ones. It's always going to be on the line. It's always going to be tough with Max. He's never going to make anyone's life easy, especially mine at this point of the year.”

Carlos Sainz celebrated a victory he "needed" after he claimed top spot at the Mexican Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver, who will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton next season, won from pole on Sunday, edging out Lando Norris and his team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Max Verstappen was handed a 20-second penalty, and finished sixth, meaning Ferrari leapfrogged Red Bull in the Formula One constructor standings.

It marked Sainz's seventh podium finish of the season, and his second victory - one that the Spaniard was set on clinching after his excellent qualifying session.

"It's incredible to see this crowd, I've been feeling their support all week and I feel like I’ve got a lot of fan support here in Mexico and they've given me a lot of strength," he said.

"Honestly, I really wanted this one, I needed it for myself, I wanted to get it done.

"I've been saying for a while I wanted one more win before leaving Ferrari and to do it here in front of this mega crowd is incredible.

"Now, four races left I want to enjoy as much as possible and if another one comes I will go for it."

Sainz relinquished the lead to Verstappen on the first lap, before the race was put under the safety car after a collision between Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda.

After the restart, Sainz swiftly passed Verstappen into Turn One, racing clear as the Dutchman and his title rival Norris battled behind him.

"I didn't prepare to be honest," Sainz said of overtaking Verstappen.

"I was just a bit annoyed at the start having lost position to him and I said I need to surprise him one way or another, as he's super difficult to pass, he's proven it many times.

"I was a bit far back but I had nothing to lose. I'm just going to send one down the inside.

"I've been confident in the braking to Turn One this weekend and I knew I could make it."

Lewis Hamilton admits he has become accustomed to trailing Mercedes team-mate George Russell after struggling in qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Hamilton qualified in sixth for Sunday's race, one place behind Russell despite the latter reverting to an older floor for his W15 car following a crash in Friday's practice.

The seven-time drivers' champion trailed his team-mate by almost three tenths of a second and has now only beaten him in qualifying five times in 20 races this year.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 following the conclusion of qualifying, which saw Carlos Sainz snatch pole position ahead of title contenders Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, Hamilton admitted he had struggled all year.

"I'm losing all the time, that's why I've been so bad in qualifying all year," Hamilton, who sits sixth in the drivers' championship standings, said. 

"It's a normal thing and I'm used to it. We have done everything. We worked so hard in the background, like everyone does, to get the car in a nice place.

"It was feeling good in final practice, so we were like, 'let's not touch anything or do anything'. All we changed was the rear wing and it's just a drastic difference.

"Every time I get to qualifying, the car is completely different. I can't pinpoint why, but it is what it is." 

Mercedes had switched to an older iteration of their car floor after both drivers struggled at last week's United States Grand Prix, with Russell now on an even older edition following his crash in second practice.

"Maybe George is more comfortable on the older package," Hamilton said. "I don't know, we'll see. We'll get a good reading of which is best."

Carlos Sainz celebrated a near-perfect qualifying session as the Spaniard now aims to win from pole at the Mexican Grand Prix.

Sainz was the quickest through qualifying on Saturday, and will start ahead of reigning Formula One champion Max Verstappen.

Lando Norris rounded out the top three, with Sainz's Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc – who won in dominant fashion in Austin last week – fourth on the grid.

It marks the sixth time Sainz, who is leaving Ferrari at the end of the season with Lewis Hamilton coming in as his replacement, has taken pole.

He said: "I'm very happy and [had] a great couple of laps.

"A lot of times around Mexico you always have a feeling that you can not put a lap together and it's extremely difficult with how much sliding there is, but today my two laps of Q3 were pretty much identical and almost perfect.

"I'm very happy because it's not normally the case around Mexico with how tricky it is."

Ferrari are third in the Constructors' Championship, with 496 points, eight behind Red Bull and 48 off pace-setters McLaren.

Sainz added: "It [the Constructors' Championship] is our number one priority. Especially if you win the race, those extra seven, eight points that you can win is important for the team in the Constructors'.

"I will be looking forward to getting that P1 into Turn One and hopefully our race pace will be good enough to win it."

Verstappen heads into Sunday 57 points clear of Norris in the driver standings, with just five races remaining.

"[The pressure] was quite a lot," said Verstappen. "I think [the circuit] is probably one of the hardest tracks to get right.

"Street circuits are difficult, but this one as well, as there is low downforce, it's very easy to have a lock-up or a slide, so it's one of the tricky ones on the calendar."

Three of the last four winners of the Mexican Grand Prix have come from third on the grid, meaning there is plenty of hope for Norris.

"I'm pretty happy with third honestly, I feel like I got to the limit of the car quite quickly which made us look good," he said.

"I struggled to get more out of it in the final two laps, Carlos and Max did good laps, especially Carlos who has been quick all weekend.

"No one has done proper long runs on the tyres that we are going to be on tomorrow so there are question marks for all of us. Ferrari have been very good in qualifying and long run pace over the last couple of races. It's going to be tough but we're in a good position so I'm looking forward to it."

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc both expressed optimism over Ferrari’s start to the Mexican Grand Prix weekend, with the pair particularly encouraged by their long-run pace.

Sainz topped second practice after coming second in FP1, while Leclerc backed him up in fourth after missing FP1 due to Ollie Bearman’s latest outing for the Scuderia.

Bearman, who will join Haas next year, was involved in an incident with the Williams of Alex Albon in the first practice, sustaining damage to the front-left corner of the Ferrari. 

Sainz and Leclerc's display comes a week on from an impressive showing in the United States, with the pair achieving a second one-two this year after doing so in Australia.

If they do so again in Mexico, it will be the first time since Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen in the 2008 season that Ferrari have managed three one-two finishes in a single year.

And Sainz is confident of their chances, saying: "We hit the ground running in FP1 with a good car, good set-up, then all FP1 and FP2 we just worked in fine-tuning a couple of things," Sainz said.

“Nothing major, so yeah, I’m quite happy with how everything feels. Especially the long runs feel good.

"I think when it comes to qualifying we’ll have a lot of challenge from our competitors, and over one lap it will be a tight battle.”

Leclerc echoed Sainz’s feelings after taking over from Bearman, with the Monegasque aiming to claim his fourth race win of the season that would surpass his 2022 total. 

“It felt good. It was a bit of a messy FP2 for everybody with the red flag of George [Russell] at the beginning," Leclerc said.

“It was quite a good FP1 to miss on paper because we would have half an hour more in FP2, but at the end it was just not great, because in the FP2 we couldn’t do the maximum laps that we wanted to do.

“But anyway, the feeling is good with the car. For me, even though we did two, three laps, we were still straight away in the pace. The long run seems to be good, so that’s really positive.”

Lando Norris accused Max Verstappen of "incorrect" driving following the incident at the United States Grand Prix that led to him receiving a time penalty.

The McLaren driver overtook Verstappen in the latter stages of the race but was given a five-second penalty for leaving the track to gain an advantage while making the pass.

The penalty meant that Norris dropped from third to fourth, and now sits 57 points behind the Drivers' Championship leader with only five races remaining.

McLaren have announced plans to launch a bid to overturn the penalty on Thursday, saying the Brit was left with no option but to go off the track as Verstappen broke late and ran wide and off the track on the turn.

"We'll ask questions. We've already asked certain questions. It's not something that needs to be done publicly or anything," Norris told Sky Sports F1 when asked about whether the rules need to be clarified when two cars go off track.

"But we can just have conversations on why I got the penalty because I don't believe it was correct. I think the majority of people don't agree it was correct, but that's life and sometimes it doesn't go your way.

"I think things just need to be clear for the future on what's allowed and what's not. I think the fact of getting off your brakes to achieve just the ruling of being ahead at apex, no matter how wide you run on the exit, is incorrect and I don't think that's how racing should be.

"Of course, that's the ruling at the minute and that's just what you've got to deal with. So I think there needs to be some tweaks."

Norris also admitted he did not think Verstappen's driving in the incident was "how racing should be".

"Max is the best in the world in this style of defence and attacking. So, I have to be at his level and at the moment I am not quite at the level I need to be at.

"It's a shame to say, but it's probably the truth. At the same time, it's a chance for me to learn and progress."

However, Verstappen did not understand the frustration, pointing out that he was following the rules during the incident in Austin.

"It's how the rules are written. I don't make the rules, first of all. I just follow the rules, as much as I can," Verstappen told Sky Sports F1.

"Of course, sometimes you get caught out with it. We've had that in the past. I just implement the rules and play with them.

"At the end of the day, you cannot overtake outside of the white line. That's a very clear rule, and I've been done by it myself.

"So, I don't understand why then, suddenly now, we need to ask and scream for changes in the regulations when it's been like that forever.

"I mean, I grew up go-karting, F3, F1 - you know that you cannot pass outside of the white line, it's as simple as that."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has described Red Bull's contentious ride-height device as "outrageous" and demanded the FIA investigate it further.

The build-up to Sunday's United States Grand Prix in Austin – won by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc as Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished third – was dominated by speculation about a device found on the RB20 car.

Rival teams have suggested the device could be used to advantageously alter the car's ride height when teams are in restricted 'parc ferme' conditions.

Under the 'parc ferme' regulations, teams are prohibited from making adjustments to their setups between the end of qualifying and the start of a race. 

Constructors' championship contenders McLaren are among the teams to have questioned the device, though Red Bull team principal Christian Horner insisted it was not accessible to use when the car was fully assembled.

Mercedes chief Wolff – a long-time rival of Horner's – has now entered the debate, calling on the FIA to take action.

"My view is from a distance, what I've seen and what I've heard, it's outrageous," Wolff said. 

FIA officials were seen observing a demonstration of how the device operates in advance of Sunday's race, but Wolff is not sure those checks were adequate.  

"I really liked that, when they put this broom in the car to demonstrate the only way that the height could get changed," Wolff said.

"I wonder how long it took them to make this, and to stick it in there. I didn't know that in Formula One that we were using such devices!

"It's not good enough to say, 'that's it, we promise we're not going to do it again'.

"I cannot speak for the FIA at all. Obviously, that's something that's not been spotted for a long time. I think the leadership of the FIA is going to look at that and say, 'what are we doing with this?'"