Lando Norris sounds Las Vegas alarm: 'It's going to be a hell of a challenge'

Lando Norris has warned of the "pretty nasty" and "pretty insane" challenge awaiting the F1 field at the Las Vegas Grand Prix if wet weather impacts on-track action.

Although there is not expected to be rain during any sessions, the risk of inclement conditions stands at 40 per cent at points throughout the days.

With cool temperatures and no sunlight to dry the track surface in the evening, drivers could find perilous conditions awaiting them when they venture out onto the circuit.

"It’s cold. I think that’s the biggest thing," Norris replied to media, including RacingNews365, when asked how the forecast could affect things.

"It’s cold, same as previous years. So... graining and things on tyres is not going to be an easy thing to understand.

"From what I’m aware of, everything is just going to rain on Thursday and a bit into Friday for maybe FP3. But I think qualifying should be fine. So I don’t think it’ll affect us too much."

Nonetheless, McLaren has struggled in Sin City since it returned to the calendar in 2023, with cool conditions seldom working with the Woking-based squad's cars, given how easy they tend to be on their tyres, something that is usually an advantage.

Reflecting on the prospect of rain, the British driver, who holds a 24-point advantage in the hunt for a maiden F1 drivers' championship over team-mate Oscar Piastri, emphasised just how treacherous the situation could be, whilst also highlighting how the temperature could further play its part.

"I think it’ll be an incredibly difficult track in the rain – yeah, pretty nasty, I think. It's going to be a hell of a challenge," the 11-time grand prix winner added.

"Obviously not a lot of room for error – quite tricky and quite quick in terms of being a street circuit.

"You've got the white lines, all the paint and stuff, which is never – it’s pretty horrible at times when you’re in the car feeling these kinds of things.

"So yeah, it will be a pretty insane challenge, I think, if it stays wet – especially if it doesn't dry very quickly either because of the temperature. So excited for both, but I prefer if it’s dry."