McLaren driver and sim racer extraordinaire Lando Norris says his win last weekend in IndyCar's virtual race at COTA has sparked his interest for the US series and its selection of interesting tracks.
Norris won on his debut in IndyCar's iRacing Challenge at the Circuit of the Americas, the young Briton driving for McLaren's US affiliate, Arrow McLaren SP, and beating an entire field of real-life IndyCar stars.
While Austin's COTA - the home of F1's US Grand Prix - is a familiar track for Norris, the 20-year-old is less acquainted with IndyCar's other venues that include a blend of street circuits, road tracks and ovals.
But the McLaren charger likes the "pure" approach of the rougher more basic layouts and isn't dismissing giving them a go later on in his career.
"A lot of them are on iRacing and are super fun to drive and very different to what we’re used to," said the McLaren charger. "A lot more pure bumps and walls. It’s a bit more raw.
"In F1 I would say [there’s] a bit more TecPro barriers everywhere and more run-offs everywhere and so on. But in IndyCar it’s more pure in terms of it’s literally just a track on the streets.
"And then you’ve got to go for it in a very difficult car to drive, one with no power steering. I would love to do it in the future. This has pushed me towards it more."
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Norris has a long and likely productive career in Grand Prix racing ahead of him. So heading west towards IndyCar's promised land is far out on his agenda.
"That’s still something not just in the future but in the far future, once I’ve focussed on Formula 1 and I’ve achieved my dreams and my aims to try and win that and win a championship and win races," he said.
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