Lando Norris absent from Brazil media duties with suspected food poisoning

Henry Valantine
Lando Norris speaking into a microphone. Baku, June 2022.

McLaren's Lando Norris speaks into a microphone during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend. Baku, June 2022.

McLaren have announced Lando Norris will not be present at Interlagos on Thursday, as he recovers from suspected food poisoning.

The team do not expect him to miss any track action from Friday onwards however, explaining in a brief statement that he will be in his hotel as he looks to recover.

McLaren posted on social media: “Lando is feeling unwell with suspected food poisoning, so he will rest in the hotel today. We expect him back at track tomorrow.

“Get well soon, Lando!”

This will see Norris miss the pre-race press conference at the circuit on Thursday afternoon, but a speedy recovery is required for the McLaren driver to take part in a weekend which sees sprint qualifying return.

This entails standard qualifying taking place on Friday instead of its usual Saturday slot, followed by the sprint on Saturday, which in turn sets the grid for Sunday’s main event.

Interlagos has not been Norris’ happiest hunting ground in his career so far, but respectable P8 and P10 finishes have seen him score points on both visits to Brazil to date.

With a tight battle with Alpine in the Constructors’ Championship coming to a head, he knows every point will count as Formula 1 heads into the final two races of the season.

Norris said ahead of the weekend: “The Interlagos circuit is a really fun place to race. The mixture of history with brilliant fans makes it such a great atmosphere. I’ve finished in the points both times I’ve raced here, so the plan is to keep the streak going.

“With the Sprint this weekend, it’s a great opportunity to get as high up the grid as we can for Sunday’s lights out, whilst hopefully picking up a couple of valuable extra points. We’re in the final stretch of the season, so we’re giving it everything we’ve got.”

McLaren currently trail Alpine by seven points for fourth in the Constructors’ standings, with millions of dollars’ worth of prize money at stake for the team who comes out on top come season’s end.

Norris also sits seventh in the Drivers’ Championship, his 111 points making him ‘best of the rest’ behind the front-running Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes drivers.

Read more: The hidden element providing another layer to the McLaren v Alpine rivalry