Norris and Piastri not on the same page about COTA's circuit changes
F1 News
McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri seem to not be on the same page this weekend at the United States Grand Prix. Norris sits 52 points behind Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship, looking to continue to close the gap after dominating at the Singapore Grand Prix last time out. With it being a sprint weakened, McLaren will also look to increase the 41-point gap between themselves and Red Bull in the constructors' championship at the Circuit of The Americas.
However, there seems to be a disagreement between the two teammates when it comes to the changes made at COTA for this weekend's racing. This year, the purpose-built F1 track in Austin, Texas went through a huge repaving project, trying to remove the many bumps around the track. The bumpy nature of the circuit has been a major characteristic, and although repaving in 2022 meant fewer bumps were felt, it was still an issue that COTA wanted to sort out.
September saw the second and final phases of the repaving project finish, with the project starting after April's MotoGP race. With a new surface for teams and drivers, quicker times are expected, as well as a decrease in the bumpy nature of the circuit. The new surface adds another element for drivers this weekend, as they will have to get used to a brand-new track surface.
Along with the new asphalt, changes to the kerbs have also been made. Track limit have also been an issue at COTA, but changes to the kerbs and run off areas at certain corners of the track have been made by the FIA as they look to crack down on track limits this weekend.
Norris and Piastri not seeing eye-to-eye
Both Norris and Piastri spoke on the changes that have been made at COTA, with Norris saying he is unsure whether it will benefit his McLaren for the sprint weekend: "I mean I have no idea if it's going to be a good thing or a bad thing. I don't think anyone does, so I think we probably all treat it as an opportunity until we know something different, but it's also a sprint race where many things can happen, and it's difficult to sometimes hit the ground running, and we saw that last year with people not getting the setups right and certain things like that."
But for Piastri, he believes a change to the circuit will be helpful for the papaya-coloured team: "I think the changes they've made are good and positive. I think there are still quite a lot of places where you can still go off. I saw they're trialling this like sticky gravel stuff in Turn 11, so we'll see if that makes a difference as well. But no I think that kind of change is very much appreciated. It was obvious that people were taking advantage of track limits, so hopefully, it takes a few annoying variables out of that."