It’s been reported that Lando Norris has, thankfully, been discharged from a local hospital following his scary crash in the opening laps of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which saw him lose control at high-speed.
Norris was able to gingerly climb out of his destroyed McLaren unaided; however, it was confirmed during the race that he’d been transferred to hospital for precautionary checks.
After starting the race in P15 following a shock Q1 elimination early on Saturday morning, Norris made a very positive start to the race and capitalised on drivers spinning ahead of him on the first lap.
By the end of the opening lap, Norris was already into 13th, ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz.
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Alonso and Sainz both span at the first corner which triggered a Virtual Safety Car, so that debris could be cleared by the marshals.
As a result, the pace was decreased which saw all of the drivers struggle even more for grip, due to the chilly temperatures.
It meant that several slides were seen when racing finally got back underway, with Norris’ MCL60 having snapped on him at high-speed, sending him backwards into one barrier, before his car spun the right-way round and slid into another.
He immediately told his team over the radio that he was OK, although McLaren CEO Zak Brown told Sky Sports F1 that he was winded.
Sending Norris to the hospital for precautionary checks was the smart thing to do, even though he was quickly discharged, as confirmed by McLaren boss Andrea Seidl.
“Lando has been discharged, all checks are negative,” said Stella, as reported by The Race.
As for the cause of the sudden, aggressive snap, Stella explained that he thought it was caused by a “bump” on the circuit, which he thinks “might have surprised” Norris whilst on cold tyres.
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“There’s a bump in that place and you can see all the cars spark when they go through this bump,” Stella explained.
“I think the combination of the bump and the cold tyres might have surprised him.
“Otherwise we don’t see any issue, let’s say with the car or of a different nature.”