Lando Norris still “felt sick” from food poisoning during Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying. Check out why he fell ill due to food poisoning.
Lando Norris : Food poisoning | illness | Sick | unwell
Norris is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One with McLaren, racing under the British flag.
| Born | 13 November 1999 Bristol, England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality | British |
| 2022 team | McLaren-Mercedes |
| Car number | 4 |
| Entries | 81 (81 starts) |
He won the MSA Formula championship in 2015, and the Toyota Racing Series, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup in 2016 and also received the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award that year.
He subsequently joined the McLaren Young Driver Programme in 2017 and won the 2017 FIA Formula 3 European Championship, competing with Carlin Motorsport.
Consequently, he was promoted to the Formula 2 Carlin team, where he finished second in 2018, competing with Carlin Motorsport. He was then announced as a McLaren driver in 2018, alongside Carlos Sainz Jr.
Lando Norris food poisoning
McLaren’s Lando Norris will drive as normal at the Brazilian Grand Prix despite contracting food poisoning earlier this week.
Norris skipped Thursday’s media sessions after falling ill in Sao Paulo, but McLaren said it had no concerns about him missing track time on Friday.
Returning to the car on Friday was more essential for Norris than other F1 weekends, with Brazil’s event held under ‘sprint’ rules, meaning the first competitive session of the race takes place that afternoon.
The British driver will take part in Friday practice, held ahead of qualifying, which is normally held on Saturday.
The grid set in qualifying is for a shortened sprint race on Saturday, which then sets the grid for the grand prix itself on Sunday.
McLaren had Mercedes reserve driver Nyck de Vries on standby if Norris was unable to compete.
De Vries, set to race at AlphaTauri next season, had a seat fitting in Norris’ car on Thursday afternoon and will be in line to step in should Norris fall unwell again.
Lando Norris illness
McLaren’s Lando Norris is set to take part in the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend after the Formula 1 driver overcome food poisoning.
Norris was excused from media day on Thursday, being confined to his hotel as he hoped to recover.
The team even went as far as giving Nyck De Vries – the Mercedes reserve and 2023 AlphaTauri driver – a seat fitting on Thursday just in case he was required should Norris have not recovered in time.
On Friday morning, the team confirmed that the Briton had recovered sufficiently from his bout of illness and will be taking up his position alongside Daniel Ricciardo for the race weekend.
Sick
The McLaren driver was excused from all Thursday pre-event media engagements at the Interlagos track. McLaren said their driver was absent due to a suspected bout of food poisoning.
While Norris rested in his hotel room, McLaren prepared for the possibility that they would require a driver to step into drive in his place for the weekend.
With Mercedes reserve driver Nyck de Vries available in the paddock having driven multiple 2022 cars and raced for Williams in Monza, Mercedes granted McLaren permission to prepare overalls and a racing seat for De Vries, should Norris be unable to take part in today’s practice and qualifying session.
Also it is the second time that Norris has been struck by illness this year. In May he developed tonsillitis which caused him discomfort during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend.
He was also excused from Thursday duties on that occasion and raced on despite his illness, finishing in eighth place.
He had not fully recovered by the time the Monaco Grand Prix began the following weekend, but again completed the weekend without having to step aside.
Unwell
Norris has battled illness already this season, struggling visibly with his health ahead of the Spanish GP before being diagnosed with tonsillitis.
This did not prevent the 22-year-old from putting together an impressive performance in his MCL36 machine, bringing home crucial points for the British squad.
Regardless, this development will be worth monitoring, as McLaren provided information on his current state.
Also this weekend’s Sprint Race weekend will present a greater challenge for Norris, who will be forced to adapt quickly given that qualifying is to be held on Friday.
McLaren expects the Briton to recover in time for tomorrow, so there is optimism that Norris’s weekend should not be too severely impacted.
The paddock will hope that Norris can recover quickly from his ill health – as a gruelling and intense season comes to an end.