LANDO NORRIS has told the boo brigade who want to “bring him down” he “could not care less” if they continue to target him – as long as he wins the world championship.

Norris heads into tonight’s race on the Las Vegas Strip – the first of three concluding rounds – with a 24-point advantage at the title summit.

The British star is the grid’s in-form driver, with consecutive victories from pole position in Mexico and Brazil putting him on the brink of a maiden world crown. However, Norris was booed after both wins.

But speaking ahead of tomorrow’s race in Nevada, Norris said: “I see it as a good thing. It is like you finally feel like you’re doing something right.

“Max [Verstappen] got a lot of boos in previous years. He doesn’t get any boos now, he actually gets the most cheers. Lewis [Hamilton] got a lot of boos before. I guess when you’re on top, a lot of people want to bring you down. They don’t want to see you winning.

“If I do a s*** job and get boos, I deserve it. But if I win and I get them, I couldn’t care less. I have so many fans that back me, have backed me forever and continue to do so.”

Norris has been targeted for perceived favouritism at McLaren. Oscar Piastri was ordered out of Norris’s way at the Italian Grand Prix in September after the Briton fell behind his team-mate following a slow pit-stop. The decision did not still well for Piastri whose form has been rocky ever since.

And quizzed as to the origins of the jeers, Norris continued: “I know some of the reasons, and it’s more because of some of the situations that have happened this year, which I’ve not asked for.

“Like Monza, for example. That’s a team decision. I didn’t come on the radio and say: ‘Hey, can we do this?’ I had nothing to do with it.

“So that’s why it doesn’t bother me at all, because I know the real reason behind it. The boos are not because of something I’ve done but external circumstances. So that’s why I probably care even less about it because I know I have done nothing to deserve them.”

With just 83 points to play for, Norris can afford to finish second at the races in Las Vegas, Qatar next weekend and the season finale in Abu Dhabi on December 7, and still take the title.

Verstappen is 49 points adrift of Norris and will be out of the championship running before Qatar if Norris, who was fastest in second practice on Thursday, outscores the four-time world champion by nine points or more.

However, Norris concluded: “There is no point getting excited about winning the title, thinking about it, dreaming about it, because for me it still feels quite far away. I try not to think about it and see it as something that is in the distance and not three races away.

“Things changed so much over the past two weekends, it could easily go the opposite way again. You can have luck, you can be unlucky. I want to try and keep it as boring and simple as I can and treat this weekend like any other.”