Norris raced despite illness – “didn’t eat for two days, lost 3.5kg”
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The McLaren driver didn’t turn up to Thursday’s media day due to food poisoning but drove well on Friday and Saturday. His race on Sunday saw him punished with a five-second penalty for colliding with Charles Leclerc, before he retired with an electrical problem.Norris detailed how awful he felt:“I was in a bad way. I’m a bit better [on Sunday].F1 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix – Full Race results from Round 21F1 standings 2022: World Championship points after the 2022 Sao Paulo GPDaniel Ricciardo – WHERE NEXT? | F1 2022Video of Daniel Ricciardo – WHERE NEXT? | F1 2022“I didn’t eat for two days, I didn’t drink for two days. I lost 3.5kg. I really struggled a lot.“Everyone thought I was fine after Friday because I just did a good job but it was quite the opposite.”Norris explained driving in the grand prix while ill: “I did start to struggle a bit physically, but then my race was over.“I’m OK, I’m getting better every day, it’s just the last day took its toll on me. “I could have a bit of food in me before the race, I could get some fluids in me which is probably the most important thing on such a hot day,“I’m sure if I didn’t break down and I made the end of the race I’d be in quite a bad condition.“There was just so much going on in my brain [on Friday]. I wasn’t getting out of the way for people very well.Related De Vries has McLaren seat fit after Norris hit with food poisoning Ricciardo reveals help from psychologist – “I was neglecting friendships”“Just small things. I don’t think it cost me anything today, we were just very, very slow.“Maybe on Friday in qualifying there were some little mistakes and just judgements, but I always felt when I was in the car and on my lap, especially a qualifying lap, I could do what I needed to do.“But longevity [was difficult] by the end of the sprint race, I was in very bad condition.”Norris is seventh in the F1 standings with one race remaining in 2022.
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