Next up for Lando Norris in his push for the F1 drivers’ title is a trip to the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Lando Norris anticipates a struggle in Las Vegas (Image: Getty)

Lando Norris has admitted he is “not looking forward” to the Las Vegas Grand Prix where he faces perhaps the sternest test remaining in his Formula 1 title push. The Brit is the clear favourite after wins in Mexico and Brazil which have put him 24 points of team-mate Oscar Piastri ahead with three rounds remaining.

Max Verstappen is 49 adrift in third place, though Norris insists the Dutchman is still a danger. And the 25-year-old is worried about losing ground in Sin City next time out, given McLaren’s struggles on the Strip last November. Norris finished a distant sixth with Piastri seventh, both more than 40 seconds behind winner George Russell in the Mercedes.

Ahead of his latest trip to Las Vegas, the Brit said: “I think it was our worst race last year, so I’m not really looking forward to it. We’ve been trying to work quite hard on improving those things. We know Mercedes were incredibly strong there last year, as well as Red Bull and Ferrari. I think we were the bottom of those four.

“Obviously, we’ve improved a lot of things this year, so I’m not going to be too negative about it. I think there’s plenty to look forward to. We know Abu Dhabi and Qatar are ones we’re looking forward to. Las Vegas just a little bit less, because they’ve been probably some of our weakest races over the last two years.”

McLaren have rarely struggled at any circuit all year, September’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix being the only event at which they have not really been in contention for the win. The Canadian Grand Prix, where Piastri finished fourth after Norris crashed into the back of him and retired, remains the only other full-length race this year at the end of which neither of their drivers has stood on the podium.

McLaren have won 14 Grands Prix including Norris’ Sao Paulo triumph and sealed the constructors’ title in Singapore a month ago. But despite romping to that championship success and their run of results this year, Norris insists he is not being pessimistic about what the Las Vegas race might hold.

McLaren struggled to compete in Las Vegas last year (Image: Getty)

He said: “I always try and be as honest as I can be. If I don’t think we’re going to be quick, I don’t think we’re going to be quick. I’m not saying I’m going to be 10th, I’m just saying I think it’s going to be difficult to win. We were a long way off. Just go and look at the data from last year, look at the race traces – we were miles off.”

A maximum of 83 points is available between now and the end of the season, but even if Verstappen were to win every remaining race, it might not be enough to topple Norris. Regarding his chances, he admitted in Sao Paulo: “It’s too many points to really have a proper chance.

“If you look at the whole season, we gave away too many points from the beginning to the middle of the season. I think for us, now it’s [about] trying to just have highlights, have good race weekends and see what we can do.”