Norris in the zone and not bothered by booing, says Brown

LONDON :Formula One championship leader Lando Norris would once have been upset to be booed on the podium but now McLaren's title frontrunner is in the zone and completely unbothered, according to team CEO Zak Brown.

Australian teammate Oscar Piastri, 24 points behind the Briton with three rounds remaining going into the weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix, is also fully focused and ready to fight for the title.

"Oscar's definitely fighting back," Brown told Reuters. "I think one of his greatest strengths is he just gets in the zone. And I've never seen Lando in a better place.

"The booing would have bothered him in the past (but) he recognises that was as much probably booing for me and how we're treating it (the duel between teammates). So he's in a great place. It's not bothering him."

"And the best part is, it's real, right?," added the American, who spent the weekend with both drivers seeing partners and playing golf in San Francisco's Bay Area.

"Sometimes you can go 'don't let that stuff bother you' but you can see it does. He (Norris) is just in a good place, he's doing his thing... he's just engaged, in the zone, totally focused but they're both relaxed. They're not faking it. They're chilled."

NORRIS BOOED IN MEXICO AND BRAZIL

Norris has won the last two races in Mexico and Brazil, and beaten Piastri in the last six, but faced boos from the crowd when he stepped on the podium.

There have been several theories on why - from fans of Mexican Sergio Perez still allegedly unhappy about some comments by Norris last year or from others who see McLaren favouring the Briton over Piastri.

Brown suggested also an element of people rooting for the underdog - now Red Bull's four-times world champion Max Verstappen as well as Ferrari's