Norris 'dosed up on headache tablets' to resist COTA bumps

Lando Norris says COTA's bumpy ride compelled him to "dose up on headache tablets" last weekend to combat massive head pain.

Bumps have long been an issue at the Circuit of the Americas due to the ground's particularly soft soil that has led to water erosion and a sinking sub-surface in some areas.

A partial, large-scale grinding and resurfacing of the track was conducted earlier this year, but undulations remained a concern when the action got underway last weekend.

After Friday's opening day of running, Lewis Hamilton said his experience onboard F1's stiffly-sprung new generation cars had been "horrible"

"Luckily, I don't have many fillings, because if I did, they would have all come out this year for sure. It's just so, so bumpy," commented the Mercedes driver.

Norris admitted to resorting to medication to alleviate his discomfort with the track's bumps on his way to sixth in last Sunday's US Grand Prix.

"I struggled a lot with that this weekend," he said. "Have you seen how hard my head hits? I’ve got internal bruising on my head or something, so it’s really not nice.

"I don’t know if it’s better for us or worse than other cars. But it’s something I struggle a lot with.

"When I take the tablets, it probably doesn’t make a big difference in the end but it’s something I struggle with."

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Although the track's resurfacing has led to some improvement, Norris reckoned that he would have enjoyed a much more comfortable ride around COTA in last year's McLaren.

"Some bits were less [bumpy], so I’m very happy they did that," he said.

"But they resurfaced half of it. That half is a little bit better. Not as good as it needs to be, especially in these cars.

"I think in last year’s cars we wouldn’t be complaining. With this year’s cars we complain about everything."

All things considered, the McLaren charger was satisfied with his run to P6, although battling back from his successive pit stops made for a tough afternoon.

On his final stint, Norris eventually set his sights on catching and overhauling Fernando Alonso's Alpine.

"I didn’t think it would be possible to do especially because I had to overtake four other cars. So it was tough," he said.

"But DRS was huge today. We had such a big headwind on the back straight, as you had DRS you could gain six tenths or even more in one lap.

"So it helped me, made my life a little bit easier. But I think if I made one too many mistakes, it wouldn’t have been possible."

Two laps from the checkered flag, Norris duly achieved his target.

"Even when I got to him, it wasn’t like I went straight past," the Briton explained. "I got a bit stuck, he pulled away a little bit. Then he made one mistake in turn 11 and I managed to get past him there.

"It was tough, we had some close ones, I looked in my mirror and it looked like we were going to make some contact. But if there’s one guy I trust more than anyone on track it’s Fernando at the end of the day.

"He’s the last guy I want to race against with two laps to go but also the most fair and respectful."

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