After the bitter disqualification in Las Vegas, Lando Norris announces that he will continue to push aggressively to the limit despite the title fight.
After the bitter double disqualification of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren emphasizes that it wants to continue taking risks in the final stages of the World Championship. In the casino metropolis, both MCL39s were disqualified due to excessive wear on the underbody.
A setback that suddenly exacerbated the championship situation: Norris continues to lead the drivers’ standings, but only with a 24-point lead over Piastri and Max Verstappen, who are lurking behind with the same number of points. Norris contradicts the impression of an overly aggressive setup
Norris: We took too little risk!
Despite the setback, Norris does not want to change his basic approach – on the contrary. The Briton explains that McLaren did not take too many risks in Las Vegas, but rather too few: “In some ways, you could almost say we didn’t take enough risks,” he emphasizes. “We were actually slower because of our problems, not faster.”
He says he is therefore “almost even more motivated” to tackle the setup boldly for the upcoming weekend in Qatar. “We will have more performance. In Formula 1, you always have to push to the limit to win.” The ride height disqualification doesn’t change that: “It’s much more complicated than simply saying, ‘They were low, so they were fast.’”
Why McLaren isn’t playing it safe despite the title fight
The title fight is close, but Norris makes it clear: playing it safe is not an option. “We want to win these last races. If we don’t get everything perfect—like in Brazil—Red Bull will be faster again and beat us,” he warns.
The approach therefore remains unchanged: “We are here to win. We will fight to the end, and that’s what I want too.” Only by pushing to the max can Norris seize this historic opportunity in the fiercely contested three-way battle against Red Bull and his own sister car.
The Qatar Grand Prix presents a particular challenge: it’s the last sprint weekend of the season – additional risk, less practice time, more strategic tightrope walking. After that, only the showdown in Abu Dhabi remains.
