Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Autosport
Autosport
Sport

McLaren: Bump that caused Norris' Las Vegas F1 crash should be taken out

On lap three of the race, Norris lost control of his McLaren through the flat-out left-hander of Turn 11 on a bump in the middle of the road.

The Briton spun and went backwards into the outside wall, coming to a stop in the run-off area for Turn 12.

After passing through the medical centre, Norris was sent to a nearby hospital for precautionary checks but was soon cleared and released.

When asked what caused the crash, his team principal Stella said: "There's a bump in that place. 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.

"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."

Stella thinks it was a combination of various circumstances that made the otherwise easily flat-out corner so tricky to navigate.

"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," he explained.

"There are multiple factors. Maybe Lando made a kind of assumption that there was enough grip.

Marshals remove debris from the circuit after a crash for Lando Norris, McLaren MCL60 (Photo by: Jake Grant / Motorsport Images)

"But it's very tricky, I'm sure all drivers will comment that. That's something that needs to be fixed."

Norris' accident wasn't the only disappointment for McLaren, as Oscar Piastri had to settle for just a point after needing to make an extra pitstop when contact with Lewis Hamilton caused a puncture.

The lap 17 contact came in the middle of the Australian's opening stint on hard tyres, so he had to stop for another set before being able to move onto the medium compound to finish the 50-lap race.

Piastri had come all the way from the back and, while he benefited from the start chaos ahead of him, he also showed strong race pace and fine overtakes to get back into contention.

"That was disappointing, just a massive shame, because Oscar was absolutely brilliant," Stella added.

"It was a bit of a surprise as to how quick we were, so it's a shame that because we had started the race on hard tyres, then we needed to pit before the due time because of the contact with Hamilton.

"With the safety car placed wherever it was placed, it was always going to be a bit of an unfavourable race for somebody that started on the hard."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.