Lando Norris Braces for “Difficult” Las Vegas Weekend Despite Championship Lead

Lando Norris admits he is not optimistic about McLaren’s chances at the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix, despite holding a commanding lead in the 2025 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship.

The Briton leads Max Verstappen by 49 points with three races remaining and could mathematically clinch the title in Nevada if he extends that gap to 58 points or more. But Norris expects the street circuit to expose some of McLaren’s weaknesses just as it did a year ago.

Remembering 2024’s Struggles

Last season, McLaren endured one of its toughest weekends in Las Vegas, struggling with extreme tyre graining and a lack of grip on the low-temperature, low-grip surface. Both Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri finished outside the top five, with Norris describing the experience as “like driving a road car.”

Although McLaren has dominated much of the 2025 season leading both championships comfortably Norris remains wary that the circuit’s characteristics and expected cool conditions (as low as 7°C) could again prove problematic.

“Hinder, for sure,” Norris said when asked if the cold would affect McLaren’s performance. “I think it was our worst race last year, so I’m not really looking forward to it.

“We’ve been trying to work quite hard on improving those things. We know Mercedes were incredibly strong there last year, as well as Red Bull and Ferrari. I think we were the bottom of those four.”

Still, Norris acknowledged that McLaren has made major strides since then:

“Obviously, we’ve improved a lot of things this year, so I’m not going to be too negative about it. We know Abu Dhabi and Qatar are ones we are looking forward to. Las Vegas just a little bit less, because they’ve been probably some of our weakest races over the last two years. So let’s wait and see.”

“I Can Say What I Want”

When pressed by a journalist about whether his cautious tone reflected a negative mindset given his championship position, Norris gave a characteristically blunt response.

“I can say what I want. I can think what I want. I always try and be as honest as I can be. If I don’t think we’re going to be quick, I don’t think we’re going to be quick,” he said.

“And I’m not saying I’m going to be 10th I’m just saying I think it’s going to be difficult to win. We were a long way off [last year] just go and look at the data. We were miles off.”

Norris pointed out that even in a dominant season, McLaren hasn’t been unbeatable everywhere.

“There have been plenty of races where we’ve not been quick enough this year. It’s not like we’ve won every single race. I’m just giving my opinion on whether I think it’s going to be easy.

“I won last weekend by 30 seconds very, very easy. I won today by pushing a lot more, only 10 seconds, and Max was probably the quickest on track. We’ve never been good in Vegas, so why am I going to think, ‘Yeah, it’s going to be fine’? I’m giving my honest opinion.”

Honest but Hopeful

Despite his realism, Norris didn’t rule out a strong result entirely or even a win.

“Maybe I’ll win then we’ll see,” he smiled. “But I’m not going to lie and say, ‘Yeah, I’m very confident, and I think it’s going to be an easy weekend,’ because I don’t think that’s how it’s going to be.”

With McLaren on the verge of sealing both championships, Norris’s pragmatic approach reflects a driver focused on finishing the job but unwilling to underestimate one of the most unpredictable races on the calendar.

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