Lando Norris bemoaned front tyre graining in Las Vegas after Helmut Marko had quipped that the emergence of this McLaren issue is “very strange”.

Marko made that comment in reference to Red Bull reportedly raising concerns over some rival teams adding water to their tyres for cooling, yet FIA inspections are said to have produced no evidence.

Helmut Marko amused by McLaren graining

During the Brazilian Grand Prix race weekend – where Max Verstappen all but ended the title hopes of McLaren’s Lando Norris with an almighty victory from P17 on the grid – reports emerged suggesting Red Bull were suspicious of McLaren being among a group of teams adding water into their Pirelli tyres through the valves to cool them.

Pirelli’s F1 chief Mario Isola said no evidence of this happening had been found, with governing body the FIA reportedly in agreement after their own inspections.

However, it would appear that Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko is not so convinced based on what he saw in Brazil, while Norris lamented front tyre graining issues over long runs in practice for the Las Vegas GP, despite the low track temperatures.

“How fast Lando Norris was able to drive [before Brazil], especially towards the end of the race, was incredible,” Marko began when speaking to F1-Insider.com. “Our tyres were at the end of their tether. We didn’t have the slightest chance.

“In the sprint in Sao Paulo, we were suddenly faster than the McLaren and Ferrari at the end – although we didn’t change anything. But they were suddenly struggling with high tyre wear. That’s very strange…”

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Norris would refer to McLaren’s long-run pace as “shocking” after practice in Las Vegas, despite finishing P2 and two seconds up on Verstappen.

“The low fuel stuff has been okay,” he told F1 TV. “The high fuel, that was shocking. So, yeah, plenty of things to look into.

“These kind of combinations of things, and what we struggle with, the front graining and stuff, I’m just not very good at it, so it’s always a bit of a struggle for me.

“But yeah, a good amount of time to work on it. Two halves really, good low fuel and difficult high fuel.”

Norris felt that a McLaren F1 car was not even his fastest option such was his struggles to get to grips with the Las Vegas Strip Circuit.

“It’s just very difficult, super low grip,” he added. “I feel like I could drive a road car quicker than we drive at the minute.”

Norris must outscore Verstappen by at least three points in Las Vegas to keep his very slim title hopes alive.

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