Lando Norris ready to risk it again as McLaren chase title after brutal Las Vegas disqualification

Lando Norris has insisted that McLaren can still take risks with the ride height of the MCL39 cars despite the Woking outfit’s double disqualification from the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Both Norris and his team-mate Oscar Piastri were disqualified for excessive plank wear beyond the permitted limit in Las Vegas. After initially finishing in second and fourth, the team walked away with nothing.

With just two rounds remaining in the season, every point is crucial in the drivers’ championship fight. Norris currently leads the standings by 24 points over Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who are both equal on points.

While it seems important to play it safe, Norris explained that the team can still afford to take risks in terms of ride height.

“In some ways you can almost say we didn’t take enough risk so it’s not as simple as just looking at it and going ‘Oh they did that and that’s why they were quick’. In fact, we were slower because of the issues that we had, not quicker.

“So, no, I’m almost more excited to just get it better for this weekend because we’ll have more performance. But every team… when you’re in Formula 1, you’re fighting for race wins and everything you always have to push things to the limit. That’s not meaning that’s exactly what we did in Las Vegas because it’s a lot more complicated, but at the same time, we still want to win these last few races.

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

“We still need to push everything to the limit as you always do because Red Bull are just as quick, so if we don’t put things in the right condition like in Brazil, they’ll be quicker than us and they’ll win. But yeah, we’re here because we want to win. We’re going to fight ’til the end, and that’s what I want to do as well.”

The Qatar Grand Prix is set to feature the final sprint race of the season before Formula 1 heads to Abu Dhabi for the season finale.

Photos from Qatar GP – Thursday