F1 Star Lando Norris Has Embarrassing Moment In Front Of Fans In Japan

Formula 1 is in Japan this weekend for an always-entertaining trip to the iconic Suzuka Circuit, and there are a lot of eyes on McLaren star and championship leader Lando Norris, something I'm sure he wasn't the case when he nearly faceplanted on the sidewalk while exiting a van in front of some of his adoring fans.

McLaren has been the clear front-runner through two Grand Prix and a Sprint Race, with their drivers, Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri, winning one Grand Prix each.

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However, Norris leads the championship, and that's why there will be a lot of focus on him.

This week, he was making an appearance leading up to the race, and the Japanese fans — known to be some of the best in the world — were there to welcome him.

Unfortunately for him, it was far from a smooth entrance.

I think we need another angle of that one for science.

Damn those seat belts. Sure, they save lives, but they'll make you look like a total doofus when one wraps around your foot like an octopus tentacle.

Many a smooth entrance has been ruined this way, but credit to Norris for soldering on, unlike a lot of us who probably would have just flown home after that; race weekend be damned.

But this is a big weekend for the championship because Suzuka should be a good indicator of where a lot of teams stand in the pecking order this year because it's the first "traditional circuit" on the calendar. Albert Park in Australia is more of a high-speed street circuit, while Shanghai features some unique quirks like the opening right-handers that seem to last forever.

So, with Norris leading the championship, a strong weekend at Suzuka – a track McLaren has a lot of team history at go look up the battles Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna had there — should bode well for the rest of the season so long as they continue to keep ahead of other teams' development.

I just hope Norris is a little smoother getting into his car on race day than he was getting out of this one.