Norris makes striking admission about F1 'drinks' issue

Lando Norris has made a startling revelation about his food and drink intake before and during races in F1.

The British driver explained that he often does not take in fluids during a grand prix and at times does not have a drinks bottle in his car at all.

Admitting that nerves and pressure are the nexus of his inability to eat and drink properly in the run up to a race, the 24-year-old clarified how he resolves the issue.

When asked by RacingNews365 what the fix is for his lack of food and drink intake ahead of races, Norris replied: "There are ways around things.

"There'll be some days when I can happily eat a bit more, and there'll be other days where I just can't do much at all.

"Of course, fluids is generally one of the best ways of getting things in. So normally in the morning, I can drink a fair bit, and I can easily mix my drinks with certain carbohydrates and drinks to get some longer-term energy in."

Not drinking during races

The McLaren driver went one step further in his response, explaining that this difficulty extends into the race itself.

It is customary for F1 drivers to drink fluids during a grand prix, usually as much as they can get away with without the added weight adversely affecting performance. 

However, Norris often does not. The two-time grand prix winner shared that across his 120 F1 starts he has drawn upon his drinks bottle on two occasions.

"I don't drink ever during a race. I often don't run with a drinks bottle," he stated.

"I think I've drunk from my water bottle twice ever in Formula 1 - and both those times when I've just been very ill, like in Barcelona a couple of years ago. 

"I do try and do it. I just really struggle to and often just forget. [I] don't like drinking during the race.

"But there's other ways around of just making sure I have good energy with bars and certain drinks that I can have small amounts of, but of high concentration."

Norris has not reached the point of physical sickness

The McLaren driver trails Red Bull's Max Verstappen by 62 points in the drivers' standings with just eight rounds to go.

And whilst Norris admits to often feeling sick when the pressure is intensified, as it is now, he has never physically been sick prior to a race start.

When asked by RacingNews365 if his nerves had ever triggered physical illness before, he responded: "Nerves, no, I don't think I've ever gone to the extreme.

"I've never really struggled so much I've never been sick or anything, as oftentimes I probably feel it.

"But that's probably as bad as I think it's got, which is, I think, normal for when it's your first time on a pole or your first time leading races.

"You feel different things than what you felt before. But honestly, I've never been that bad."