F1 News: Lando Norris was “heavily dosed up on headache tablets” in American GP
Norris #Norris
Lando Norris has revealed that he was struggling with the bumpy nature of the Circuit of the Americas, which forced him to take headache tablets before the race.
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The 22-year-old still produced a very impressive performance in his MCL36 machine, once again finishing as the best of the rest for McLaren.
McLaren’s pace was relatively average in COTA, with most teams in the midfield battling for the same piece of tarmac throughout the Grand Prix.
Norris still managed to separate himself from the rest of the pack, climbing to the front of the midfield and keeping the team’s fight with Alpine in the constructors’ standings alive.
Speaking to the media post-race, Norris explained some of the difficulties he faced regarding the nature of the circuit:
“There was so much focus the last ten laps, especially on a track like this”, Norris told racingnews365.
“There’s so many bumps. I was heavily dosed up on headache tablets because I struggled a lot with that this weekend because it’s bumpy.
“It’s not really nice. I don’t know if it’s better or worse for us than other cars, but it’s something I struggle a lot with.
“When I take tablets, it probably doesn’t make a big difference in the end.
“But it’s something I struggle with, so [it becomes] easy to make mistakes, easy to lock up, so easy to spin.”
In pre-season testing before the start of 2022, porpoising quickly became the topic of conversation among fans and analysts alike.
The FIA then introduced regulation changes to rectify this phenomenon during the summer break, as concerns were raised about the safety and wellbeing of drivers.
Porpoising has almost completely escaped the arena of public discourse since then, but Norris’ struggles in America serve as a reminder of the physicality in Formula 1.
Regardless, Norris and McLaren will look ahead to Mexico and work to secure more vital points.