McLaren’s Lando Norris returned home to the UK ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix for tests after suffering pain during the Styrian Grand Prix weekend.
Norris was complaining of back and chest pain whilst driving through high-speed corners during the second race held at Austria’s Red Bull Ring. On Sunday after that event he returned to the UK with his trainer for tests and consultations.
To ensure he stuck to F1’s strict coronavirus safety protocols, he had no contact beyond his trainer and medical professions. Norris flew to Budapest on Wednesday evening and has no concerns about lingering problems.
“We’ve kind of diagnosed it and I’m feeling better for this week, which is a very good thing,” Norris said ahead of this weekend’s race. “I went back to the UK in the last few days, remaining in my bubble, to go and see some specialists and get scans and so on.”
Norris, 20, said the pain came as a result of the lengthy stint without racing in the four-month delay to the season caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s not something that’s going to heal completely overnight but I’m much better than what I was last weekend. It was just bruising from being out of an F1 car for so long basically and then getting back into it and going straight into a race weekend, doing so many laps.
“It wasn’t something I could really prepare for or know about until after we did the first weekend. Obviously we had a few days off in between but it hit my body a few days later and I was just a bit bruised.
“I’m alright for now. It’s hard to know until I’m back in the car and pushing it to the limit again but for now everything is good.”
Norris finds himself third in the championship two races into his sophomore season. The Englishman claimed his first F1 podium finish at the Austrian Grand Prix, the opening race of the season, at the start of July.