Featured Image Credit: Getty & F1
Topics: Formula 1, Lando Norris, McLaren
Rory O'Callaghan
Lando Norris has been taken to hospital after crashing early on in the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The British driver became the race's first retirement after crashing on just the fourth lap.
Norris lost control of his McLaren, spinning several times before colliding heavily with the barriers.
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It has been claimed that the low temperatures in Las Vegas may have contributed to the crash.
Norris had been running in 12th place, directly behind McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, when he lost control of the rear of his car.
There were several worrying seconds immediately after the collision, when McLaren struggled to contact Norris over the team radio.
A clip of the 'frightening' moments after the crash has been shared on social media, in which a McLaren engineer is initially met with silence after asking Norris 'are you okay?'.
The engineer repeats the question and Norris can be heard breathing heavily before thankfully replying 'yeah, all good'.
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Norris, 24, was able to walk away from the crash but was later taken to hospital as a precaution.
"Following the incident involving Car 4 [Norris], the driver self-extricated and was transferred to the circuit Medical Centre before being taken to University Medical Center for further precautionary investigations," read an FIA statement.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown later gave an update on Norris' condition.
"[He's] OK," said Brown.
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"So a very big hit, he sounded pretty winder when he spoke to us. He took a little bit of time to get out of the car but it looks like he’s catching his breath and he's OK.
"We are looking at the data now. Can't quite yet tell what happened other than a big hit, we're just very happy he's okay. Hopefully, he'll check out fine.
"It's unfortunate, very rarely does Lando go off so just happy he's okay. It was a bit concerning there when we first spoke with him."
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McLaren later confirmed that Norris had been discharged from hospital.
"Some good news, team. Following further precautionary checks, Lando has been discharged from University Medical Center," the team posted on X.
Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen won the race after fighting back from a five-second penalty to finish ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.
It is Verstappen's 18th race win of the season and extends his lead at the top of the drivers' standings to 276, with Perez second and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton still third despite a seventh place finish in Las Vegas.