Lando Norris joins Max Verstappen in COTA complaints after headache tablet revelation
Photo: Race Pictures
Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.
Lando Norris has echoed Max Verstappen's concerns coming into the US GP weekend surrounding the bumpy track surface at the Circuit of the Americas. The Red Bull driver said on Thursday that jokes of a "new spine" post-Austin are "not really a joke," while Norris has revealed he needs headache tablets to deal with the bumps.
After his Singapore GP victory, Verstappen initially joked that he would need a new spine after noticing the bumpy surface in Austin during a recent WEC race. On media day, however, the Dutchman's tone was different, with Verstappen detailing the physical consequences of bumpy tracks such as COTA.
Verstappen said: "Last year, for example, you pull around 5-6G in a corner, but I had some impacts, vertical load, which was over 9G on my spine, which I can tell you is really not fun, and especially the older you get, you think about that more and more."
Norris reveals headache tablet use
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Photo: Race Pictures
Reigning world champion Norris has had his say on the challenges with regard to track surface at Austin. "Well, I would say yes. I mean, if you build a new track now the FIA... the rules, the regulation of building a new track, the tolerances you have to be within are pretty small. It certainly doesn’t fit anywhere close to what those regulations are now, let’s say, but it’s an old track, not a new track - it’s pretty bad.”
Norris then revealed he has had to take medication to deal with the forces endured during an F1 race. The McLaren driver explained: "There’s a lot of places I need to take headache tablets before I go out. Simply because it’s so bumpy and you're hitting your head pretty hard against the headrests and things because of the bumps, so it’s certainly not a nice thing.
"But there's not much we can do. I mean we complain about it, so it’s certainly brought up many, many times but there’s only so much we can complain about things, but he’s right. Certainly right.”
Russell: It's part of racing
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Fellow Briton George Russell has also backed Verstappen's complaints. Despite admitting bumpy circuits are "part of racing," the Mercedes driver suggested F1 tracks should be repaved every couple of years.
"Yeah, it’s bumpy, but I think it’s just part of racing," Russell said. "I’d say my general view is F1 tracks probably need to be repaved every couple of years just to make it a bit more consistent, because we’re going to tracks now where tarmac’s coming up, it’s falling apart, it’s causing more issues than not.
"We’re not an Indy car or an F2 car that run their ride heights reasonably high, our ride height’s 10mm at the end of the straight, a centimetre from the ground, so any tiny bump you really feel it.”
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