Lando Norris suffered an early retirement from today’s Las Vegas Grand Prix after his McLaren suffered a horrific accident at Turn 12 on the third lap, shortly after a virtual safety car was introduced for public awareness.
Norris was able to get out of the car without help, but McLaren team principal Zac Brown reported that the 24-year-old was gasping for breath due to the force of the impact.
After undergoing tests at the F1 Medical Center in the Paddock, Norris was sent to the nearby University Hospital for further tests. He was later found safe and released early in the morning.
“It was a disappointing end to our weekend,” he said later. “We hit rock bottom on the restart, lost the rear and hit the wall. The weekend didn’t end the way we had hoped.
“Thank you to the medical staff who tested us and to our work.
A big thank you to the team that helped me put it in my car now. We have a week to restart and get back on the road for the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.”
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the accident was caused by road problems and a drop in tire temperature during the short VSC. I thought so.
“I think the combination of the bumps and cold tires may have spooked him,” he suggested. “There is a step at this point and you can see all the cars shining as they pass over this step.
I think this bump in the road should be fixed if night races are to continue.” he added. “Because the tires are always cold and there’s very little grip and it’s going to be a very tricky corner.”
Stella said the late hours of the race were not the main problem. “Over the weekend, we saw instances of oversteer at this point, so we highly recommend smoothing out this bump, regardless of your schedule.”
“There are several factors. “Perhaps Lando thought he had enough grip,” he added. “But it’s very difficult, I’m sure all the drivers will say that. This needs to be fixed.”
Norris withdrew from the race early, leaving his teammate Oscar Piastri in the McLaren’s Papaya. I decided to wear colors. The Australian started 18th but had contact with Lewis Hamilton early in the race.
He nevertheless got a flat tire with 10 laps remaining and finished 4th. “I was a little surprised at how fast we were,” Stella admitted.
A quick second pit stop allowed him to regain some of the lost positions and he finished in 10th place in the points, as well as a bonus point for the fastest lap time in the race.
“I had to pit early because of the contact with Hamilton,” he said. “It was a real shame because Oscar was really great. It was a real shame.”
“I felt like I deserved a little more recognition in this race,” Piastri commented. “I was surprised when I started on the hard (tyres).
“The pace was good, but in the end it didn’t make that much of a difference,” he added. “I’ll take the positives home.” It’s a lot better than yesterday and the pace of the car is still quite good.
McLaren is now just 11 points behind Alpine in the battle for fourth place in the 2023 constructors’ championship after Alpine opened up a 10-point lead over its rivals in Las Vegas with one race remaining this season.