Lando Norris chalks up Las Vegas crash to being a ‘bit unlucky’

ABU DHABI – Lando Norris said his crash during the early laps of the Las Vegas Grand Prix last week was not as bad as it appeared, and chalked the incident up to a combination of factors.

“The obvious one being, there’s quite a big bump there,” the McLaren Formula One driver said, ahead of this weekend’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

“Then cool tyres, so therefore, lower ride heights than what you’re normally running with... The first time following a lot of cars through all of this, you have even less downforce than what you already have.

“Couple of other little things in the background that just made this bump have a bigger effect than what it normally has.

“I somehow must have caught it at a worse angle than normal. I knew there was a bump there but just for some reason, the effect of it on this one lap is a lot bigger than what it had been previously. So just a little bit unlucky.”

There was some initial concern for Norris, who was taken to a nearby hospital. He was released soon after and said: “Honestly, I was never that bad.”

But the Briton admitted he was winded from the impact on Turn 11, and that he was caught off guard by the accident.

“It happened quite quickly, it was still a decent impact. But I was fine. I never struggled with anything,” he added.

“I was more just frustrated that I was out of the race in Vegas so early on. But I was fine. A little shaken at first, just because it caught me by surprise so much.”

Norris arrived in Las Vegas with five podiums in the previous six races. He is currently sixth with 195 points, five points behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso entering the season finale.

Meanwhile, Toto Wolff and Fred Vasseur, the Mercedes and Ferrari bosses respectively, were given official warnings on Nov 23 for “unacceptable” swearing during a news conference in Las Vegas.

The sport’s ruling body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), said their language, during a clash over the condition of the circuit in Las Vegas, was “not consistent” with the sport’s values, noting Wolff and Vasseur were role models for F1.

“In future, the FIA will not tolerate the use of such language in FIA forums by any stakeholder,” it said.

The stewards accepted there were mitigating circumstances.

Vasseur was agitated and swore about the damage to Sainz’s car after he hit a loose drain cover during opening practice, an incident that ended the session after only nine minutes and delayed the second practice by more than two hours.

Sainz’s vehicle was so badly damaged it had to be entirely rebuilt with a new power unit and other parts, resulting in the Spaniard being given a 10-place grid penalty.

The stewards reported Vasseur was “extremely upset and frustrated by the incident”, adding his outburst used language that was unusual for him.

Wolff was reprimanded after he had launched a strong defence of the event and the circuit following the issues during the opening day. REUTERS, AFP