McLaren pooling resources to help star racer Lando Norris manage his back pain, claims Team Boss Andrea Stella
Lando Norris has revealed an ongoing back problem following the aerodynamic rule changes introduced last season.
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Andrea Stella and Lando Norris (Via imago)
Lando Norris has recently joined the list of drivers complaining about the back pains which seem to have resulted due to the cars getting much stiffer under the new regulations introduced last season. Besides the McLaren driver, Lewis Hamilton has also voiced concerns regarding this issue. It was noted before that many drivers endured problems last season due to the violent nature of the porpoising that saw the cars bounce up and down at high speeds.
While the porpoising was subsequently eradicated following driver complaints, Lando Norris continues to endure “a lot of issues over the last 12 months”, according to his Team Boss Andrea Stella. The Italian who became the Team Principal of Mclaren earlier this year, has confirmed the papaya squad is doing all it can to help Norris. They have even tried making multiple seats to sooth the British driver’s discomfort. Lando has also taken on a physiotherapist and reduced playing golf although it is no news that he loves it.
Stella added, “Some (improvements) will have to come, as he explained himself, from his own understanding of what his body requires in terms of conditioning”. The Team Boss who stepped in as Andreas Seidl left to become the CEO of Sauber, commented on Mclaren’s efforts, saying, “From our side, there are quite a lot of variables that we can play with, but we need to know exactly where we have to put our focus, so it’s really a work in progress.”
Carlos Sainz claims multiple drivers are still experiencing ‘back pains’ in new-generation cars
Carlos Sainz Jr. was asked to share his thoughts on several drivers experiencing back pain post the regulation changes. The Ferrari driver said, “These cars are very hard on the driver. Their high stiffness is not ideal for our backs and shoulders. These Formula 1 find performance the stiffer you can turn.” He also pointed out how the teams will always choose speed over minimising the driver’s discomfort.
There is an interesting discourse to be had about this topic. Whether it is for the drivers to adapt to the raging speeds of the newer cars to follow or whether Formula 1 is all about chasing the perfect combination of the fastest driver in the fastest car.
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Himanshu Chavan
(232 Articles Published)