Norris admits Turn 1 fail at Las Vegas GP ‘pretty embarrassing’

Lando Norris rolled off pole position at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but the confidence from his stellar qualifying effort didn’t survive the first corner of the race.

Charging toward Turn 1 with Max Verstappen launching alongside him, Norris braced for a hard fight – and perhaps pushed that fight a beat too far.

The McLaren driver’s aggressive braking gamble backfired, sending him wide and dropping him behind both Verstappen and George Russell before the race had even settled into its rhythm.

Speaking straight after the race, Norris didn’t sugar-coat the misfire.

“Pretty embarrassing. I need to learn from Turn 1 and try to do a better job than I've been doing recently,” the championship leader told Sky Sports F1, sounding equal parts frustrated and self-aware.

In the official press conference, he doubled down on the self-critique while still defending the aggressive mindset needed at the start in Vegas.

"You've got to be punchy into Turn 1. I was just a bit too punchy, and that cost me. So that's the way it is sometimes."

Despite the early setback, Norris clawed back to a hard-earned second place on the road – only to have the result erased hours later when both McLarens were disqualified for excessive skid-block wear.

Suddenly, the podium recovery was gone, and the title picture tightened further. Norris’ championship lead now sits at just 24 points over both Oscar Piastri and Verstappen with only Qatar and Abu Dhabi remaining.

‘I just hate getting beat’

Even before the disqualifications were announced, Norris was already feeling the heat from a resurgent Max Verstappen and Red Bull. The world champion has been chipping away at McLaren’s advantage, and Lando didn’t hide his frustration.

"I just hate getting beat, simple as that. I hate that they are quicker at the minute. We've got to try and step it up a bit," he fired.

He also pointed out that, despite McLaren’s win in Brazil a few weeks ago, the raw pace gap to Red Bull has become glaring.

"I know we won in Brazil, but we weren't quick enough in Brazil relative to what Max was,” he said.

“They seem very good. Max is doing a very good job and the Red Bull car seems very quick and they are beating us."

And in a moment of team-wide accountability, Norris admitted: “It’s disappointing we are not doing a better job as a team, myself included".

Two races remain. The standings are close. The margin for error – especially Turn 1-sized errors – is vanishing. And Norris knows exactly what has to change if he’s going to finish this title fight on top.

Read also: Verstappen backs Norris’ Vegas GP start despite costly error

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