McLaren chief demands Las Vegas GP F1 track change after Norris put in hospital

19 November 2023 , 15:28

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Lando Norris was involved in a scary crash in Las Vegas (Image: Sky Sports)

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has called for changes to be made to the Las Vegas Grand Prix ahead of next year's race after Lando Norris was involved in a scary high-speed crash.

Norris was taken to hospital after losing control of his car and smashing into the barriers at 180mph. The Brit was visibly shaken by the incident, but was able to reassure his team over the radio by telling them he was all good.

"Following Lando's incident earlier, he was transferred to the circuit Medical Centre and has now been taken to University Medical Center for further precautionary investigations," McLaren said in a statement.

Norris was discharged around an hour and a half later and returned to the paddock, with Stella revealing after the race that a bump in the road at Turn 12 was the cause of the crash. "There's a bump in that place," Stella said.

"And you can see all cars sparkle when they go through this bump. I think the combination of the bump and the cold tyres might have surprised him. I think that bump, if we carry on racing at nighttime, should be fixed, because the tyres will always be cold, low grip and it becomes a very tricky corner.

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"Already during the weekend, we saw cases of oversteer in that place. So independently of the timetable, we would strongly recommend that this bump is smoothened out. In fairness, it's the same bump for everyone, so it just depends on your speed, the condition of your tyres, potentially how your car is positioned there, how close you are to the car ahead.

"There are multiple factors. Maybe Lando made a kind of assumption that there was enough grip. But it's very tricky, I'm sure all drivers will comment that. That's something that needs to be fixed."

Norris later shared a series of pictures on Instagram and reassured fans he was fine, writing: "Rough day. Big impact. But feeling okay! Thanks for all the messages see you next weekend".

And in McLaren's post-race release, the Brit added: "An unfortunate end to our Las Vegas GP weekend. I just bottomed out on the restart, lost the rear and hit the wall.

"Not the way we wanted the weekend to end. Big thanks go to the medical staff for checking me over, and to the team for the work they'll now put in on the car. One week to reset and go again for the season finale in Abu Dhabi."

Matthew Cooper