Jolyon Palmer tells Lando Norris why the Las Vegas GP is a nightmare next race in his title challenge

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Lando Norris has just extended his Formula 1 championship lead to a whopping 24 points with three races to go.

It’s hard to see anyone but him coming out on top now, with teammate Oscar Piastri out of form, and Max Verstappen too far back to have much of a say in proceedings. But McLaren will still be wary of losing the drivers’ championship right up until they have it sealed.

Unfortunately for them, the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix doesn’t arrive at a great time. It’s not one of their strongest tracks, and if Norris gets it wrong, his lead could evaporate very quickly. It has happened before, such as when he crashed in 2023.

A ‘brutal’ Norris flaw has ‘disappeared’ in 2025 as he bids to win a maiden Formula 1 title in his seventh campaign. Jacques Villeneuve thinks Norris is ‘above the rest’ and was impressed by his recent performance in Sao Paulo at a critical stage. He’s doing what he needs to do.

READ MORE: Lando Norris makes ‘pretty disappointing’ claim after Max Verstappen’s incredible Brazilian GP display

Jolyon Palmer ‘wouldn’t like’ to go to Las Vegas if he was Lando Norris amid F1 title charge

Mark Webber thinks Norris is ‘backing’ up his chat with some solid performances in his car, while Piastri has tailed off in the latter portion of the season. It feels like a complete shift compared to the balance of power earlier in the campaign.

Norris has rubbished suggestions he has nothing to lose because he has come back from where few expected him to. After retiring with an engine failure in Zandvoort, he had a very steep hill to climb, but he has completely changed the narrative for himself with his own speed.

But Jolyon Palmer thinks that the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix circuit, which is one of McLaren’s weaker tracks, is one of the last places that Norris would ‘like’ to go to next.

“I wouldn’t like to go to Vegas next, if I was Lando,” he said on F1TV. “You’re on this roll, but Vegas is an outlier of a circuit. It’s cold, it’s a very smooth surface. The sort of one where Mercedes will be quick. Ferrari will probably be quick.

“That means if you have an off weekend, the walls are really close. It’s easy to put it in the barrier when the tyres don’t get fired up and you’re at high speed. You can easily be at the bottom end of the top 10. If Oscar is working magic, which he’s capable of, he can win the race.

“If it was Qatar, if it was Abu Dhabi, any of the conventional race circuits, I think Lando’s in the groove and he would be tough to beat. But Vegas would just knock you out of kilter if you’re not on laser focus. He’s not got great form around there.”

READ MORE: Juan Pablo Montoya says there’s only one way McLaren can stop Oscar Piastri leaving if he loses title

Where did Lando Norris finish at the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix?

Looking at Norris’ performance in Las Vegas over the last few years, it’s clear to see why he might be worried.

In 2023, his heavy crash was one of the main talking points during the race and highlighted the dangers of racing on a street circuit.

Last year, with a car that won two races later in the season-ender, he could only muster sixth. If Verstappen or Piastri win with him down there this year, the title will still be wide open.

Norris is Sebastian Vettel’s title favourite and expects him to come out on top, but now is the time to prove that he is the right material to do so.