Lando Norris makes headache tablets confession to cope with US GP F1 track

Lando Norris has agreed with Max Verstappen about the state of the track surface at the Circuit of the Americas ahead of the F1 US Grand Prix.

Verstappen levelled strong criticism against the COTA track surface on Thursday, saying he was concerned about potential spinal damage because of the harshness of some of the bumps.

McLaren driver Norris, who was second at COTA last year on route to the title, thinks the Texas track, which debuted in 2012, no longer meets the standard the FIA sets for new circuits.

“If you build a new track now, the FIA has the rules and regulations for building a new track and the tolerances you have to be within are pretty small,” said Lando Norris on Thursday at COTA when asked about the condition of the track and Verstappen’s comments on the subject, as reported by RacingNews365.

“It certainly doesn't fit anywhere close to what the regulations are now, let's say, but it is an old track, not a new track.

“It is pretty bad, and there are places where I need to take headache tablets before I go out, simply because it is so bumpy and you are hitting your head against the headrests because of the bumps.

“It is certainly not a nice thing, but there is not a lot we can do. We complain about it, and it is brought up many times, but there is only so much we can complain about things, but [Verstappen] is certainly right.”

COTA’s surface has been a consistent area of concern almost since its international debut almost 15 years ago. 

The track has been ground down in the past to try to eradicate bumps, but the dust left by the work led to roost when MotoGP visited soon after. 

There have also been many partial resurface jobs done on the circuit, but the softness of the land on which it has been built continues to make unevenness a problem for the elite series on both two and four wheels.