Lando Norris has admitted he is “not looking forward to” the Las Vegas Grand Prix due to concerns McLaren could struggle again at the street circuit.
Norris has claimed successive victories in Mexico and Brazil to open a 24-point lead over his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri at the top of the Drivers’ Championship but is far from confident going into the first of three back-to-back races to end the season.
McLaren have struggled in the two previous races held at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit since it was added to the Formula 1 calendar in 2023, with Norris finishing sixth and Piastri seventh last year despite having a car that would go on to win the Constructors’ Championship.
With the competitive sessions in Las Vegas taking place in the evening under the city’s stunning lights, McLaren have struggled to get their car working in temperatures that are far cooler than those at most other events on the calendar.
Asked whether he expected the conditions in Las Vegas to help or hinder McLaren this year, Norris replied: “Hinder, for sure. 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 Ferraris. I think we were the bottom of those four.
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Highlights from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, where George Russell started on pole and Max Verstappen was looking to claim his fourth world title.
“So yeah, we’ll wait and see. Obviously, we’ve improved a lot of things this year, so I’m not going to be too negative about it.
“I think there’s plenty to look forward to. 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.”
Norris’ answer during the post-race press conference after he had won in Brazil prompted a journalist to question whether he was presenting an overly negative mentality, to which he further explained his viewpoint.
He added: “I can say what I want. I can think what I want. I’d say what I always am is, 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.
Lando Norris on track passing Las Vegas’ immersive Sphere venue in 2024
“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 – just go and look at the data from last year. Look at the race traces – we were miles off.”
Stella: We know which direction we need to go in
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella offered more hope that lessons from last year’s race in Las Vegas could lead to a more positive result this time around.
Unlike last year, McLaren go into the race with the Constructors’ Championship already sealed, and all eyes on the battle between Norris and Piastri for the drivers’ title.
“Vegas last year was one of the most difficult races,” Stella said. “We had difficulties with the behaviour of the tyres, as you say, and the behaviour of the tyres in qualifying, because we were not fast, and behaviour of the tyres in the race because we had a lot of graining.
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Watch back the big moments that are costing Oscar Piastri the title race lead so far this season.
“We also had some aerodynamic issues when we tried to offload the rear wing, we saw that we were losing too much efficiency, and we had a bit of issues with the setup of the car, in a way, trying to compensate this graining and some of the understeer.
“The review from Vegas last year gave us a lot of information to try and find a way to improve. I would say that from a tyre point of view, from an aerodynamic efficiency point of view, and from a car set up point of view, we know in which direction we should change compared to last year.
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Watch back the big moments that are costing Oscar Piastri the title race lead so far this season.
“Will it be enough to be competitive now? We will only see it in in Vegas, but definitely we took actions in response to what we saw last year, because certainly the performance wasn’t satisfactory enough.”
Wolff doubts repeat of Mercedes dominance
Mercedes were dominant in Las Vegas last year, with George Russell winning from pole and Lewis Hamilton sealing a one-two for the Silver Arrows as he surged through the field from 10th on the grid.
That performance will lead some to install them as the early favourites for the event, but team principal Toto Wolff has admitted he is doubtful of a repeat display.
Wolff said: “I’ve said, ‘let’s just keep exactly the same car that we had last year, let’s not change it’. But unfortunately, that’s not the case anymore.
“We’ve got to be very analytical of the car that we need for Las Vegas, what is the ambient and can really replicate that kind of performance [from last year], but I doubt it.
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Relive George Russell’s hilarious radio messages after winning the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix.
“We just need to go there open minded. It’s a new weekend and hopefully we perform well.”
Wolff’s doubts partly stem from the fact Mercedes haven’t necessarily performed as the team’s projections would have suggested so far in 2025.
He cited the fact they weren’t competitive at races in Britain and Belgium where they had hoped to compete for victory, while Russell admitted after claiming Mercedes’ most recent victory in Singapore that the result had come as a major surprise.
Asked whether Vega presented Mercedes’ best chance of a win across the final three races, Wolff replied: “I would have said Silverstone was a great opportunity, Montreal, we won, but Silverstone not at all, and Spa not at all.
“I don’t want to set our expectations based on last year’s result, because we’ve been beaten before. In Brazil, for example, one year we dominated, the next one was nowhere.
“So, I think I’m really looking forward to hitting the ground running in Las Vegas, and seeing what we can do there.”
Sky Sports F1’s Las Vegas GP schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Thursday November 20
2am: Drivers’ Press Conference
5am: Paddock Uncut
Friday November 21
12am: Las Vegas GP Practice One (session starts at 12.30am)*
1.55am: F1 Academy Practice*
2.50am: Team Principals’ Press Conference
3.45am: Las Vegas GP Practice Two (session starts at 4am)*
5.25am: F1 Academy Qualifying*
6.10am: The F1 Show*
Saturday November 22
12.15am: Las Vegas GP Practice Three (session starts at 12.30am)*
2.10am: F1 Academy Race One*
3am: Las Vegas GP Qualifying build-up*
4am: LAS VEGAS GP QUALIFYING*
6am: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook*
Sunday November 23
12.15am: F1 Academy Race Two
2.30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Las Vegas GP build-up*
4am: THE LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX*
6am: Chequered Flag: Las Vegas GP reaction*
7am: Ted’s Notebook*
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1’s thrilling title race continues with the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 21-23, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
