Lando Norris does not blame the Las Vegas track for his crash
Lando Norris does not blame the Formula 1 track for his massive crash at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, although he confirmed that a bump was one of the factors that caused the accident.
The McLaren driver crashed heavily on the third lap of the race when his car became uncontrollable in turn 11. After the race, his team boss, Andrea Stella, highlighted a bump at that part of the track, suggesting that it should be smoothed out next year.
Lando Norris perd sa monoplace dans le 3ème tour 🤯
Safety Car ⚠️ Le pilote McLaren va bien 👍#LasVegasGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Miwi96JHxk
— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) November 19, 2023
However, speaking for the first time since the accident, Norris suggested that his accident was due to a combination of factors, with the bump being just one of them. What is evident is that there is a large bump there. Additionally, we had cold tires, which resulted in lower ride heights compared to what you would normally drive with.
The first time you follow a lot of cars in all of this, you have even less support than usual. And then a few other small things in the background that make this bump have a bigger effect than it normally does. I think I must have hit it at a worse angle than usual. I always knew there was a bump there. […] So just a bit of bad luck at the same time ».
When asked if the track should be modified, he downplayed the suggestion. « As I said, it was a combination of things. So, for all of these things to happen again and cause that, it’s quite rare. Probably, if I tried to drive everything the same way now, there’s no guarantee it would happen again ».
So if I was 30 centimeters to the right or left, it might have been different. If there had been one less car in front of me, it would have been different. If I had disconnected the battery a little earlier, it would have been different. There are so many different circumstances.
“I think the track is good”
He even explains that the track is a good layout, but possibly less enjoyable for drivers due to the weather conditions. « I think the track is good. It’s not the best circuit I’ve ever driven, except for the fact that it would need better grip. I believe the tarmac has made the situation much worse than any driver would have wished for. »
Norris admitted to realizing that an opportunity had been missed after seeing the pace of his teammate Oscar Piastri in the race. « It’s a shame. It looked like it was going to be a fun race. Turn 1 was quite chaotic. Quite a bit of negligence from many people, but otherwise, it seemed like an enjoyable race. And Oscar had a good pace. So, it’s a shame to miss out on that. »
