McLaren’s battle with Alpine for fourth in the Constructors’ Championship could be in jeopardy at this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix, with the Woking-based team putting in place a contingency plan following an issue for Lando Norris.
As confirmed by the team on social media, Norris is in a race against time to be fit to compete this weekend after coming down with “suspected food poisoning” ahead of Friday’s sessions.
Given that the Brazilian GP is the final sprint weekend of the season, the unusual compact schedule means that the drivers are working at arguably a higher intensity from the get-go, something that is far from ideal when suffering from food poisoning.
The British side are expecting him to be fit in time for FP1 on Friday, something they revealed on social media.
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“Lando is feeling unwell with suspected food poisoning, so he will rest in the hotel today,” McLaren wrote on Twitter.
“We expect him back at track tomorrow. Get well soon, Lando!”
Norris was absent from Thursday’s press conferences due to resting up back at the side’s hotel, leaving the papaya-side to come up with a back-up plan should the Brit not be fit.
Unbelievably, the backup plan is to use Mercedes reserve and 2023 AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries, who was spotted doing a seat fitting with the side on Thursday, as a precaution.
Should De Vries complete a session for McLaren, then it would mean he’s driven for four teams in a competitive session this season, having driven for Mercedes, Williams and Aston Martin during an FP1 session, whilst he also raced for Williams at the Italian Grand Prix.
The 2019 F2 World Champion also reportedly tested for Alpine over the summer and will be driving for AlphaTauri in the post-season Abu Dhabi young drivers test.
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It means that by the end of 2022, he could’ve driven for seven of the 10 teams on the grid, not a bad thing to have on a CV!
Despite still being under contract with Mercedes, he has already visited AlphaTauri’s factory in Faenza, as he prepares himself for his full rookie season next year alongside Yuki Tsunoda.
De Vries is, of course, replacing Pierre Gasly, who is replacing Fernando Alonso at Alpine, to form an all-French line-up alongside Esteban Ocon at the French side.