Suspected food poisoning keeps Lando Norris away from media duties at Interlagos

McLaren's Lando Norris missed media responsibilities at Interlagos on Thursday as he recovers from suspected food poisoning.

The Formula 1 team do not expect him to miss any track action from Friday onwards, explaining in a brief statement that he will be in his hotel as he looks to recover.

McLaren posted on social media: "Lando is feeling unwell with suspected food poisoning, so he will rest in the hotel today. We expect him back at [the] track tomorrow.

"Get well soon, Lando!"

Lando is feeling unwell with suspected food poisoning, so he will rest in the hotel today. We expect him back at track tomorrow. Get well soon, Lando! ??#BrazilGP ???? pic.twitter.com/Ut1k16Ado4

The weekend schedule

Norris missed the pre-race press conference at the circuit on Thursday afternoon, but a speedy recovery is required for the McLaren driver to take part in a weekend which sees sprint qualifying return.

This entails standard qualifying taking place on Friday instead of its usual Saturday slot, followed by the sprint on Saturday, which, in turn, sets the grid for Sunday's main event.

Interlagos has not been Norris' happiest hunting ground in his career so far, but respectable P8 and P10 finishes have seen him score points on his recent visits (2019 and 2021) to Brazil.

With a tight battle with Alpine in the Constructors' Championship coming to a head, he knows every point will count as F1 heads into the final two races of the season.

Norris said ahead of the weekend: "The Interlagos circuit is a really fun place to race. The mixture of history with brilliant fans makes it such a great atmosphere. I've finished in the points both times I've raced here, so the plan is to keep the streak going.

"With the Sprint this weekend, it's a great opportunity