Lando Norris wants to learn from his "pretty embarrassing" start to the Las Vegas Grand Prix and urged McLaren to "step it up a bit" with Max Verstappen closing in.

Norris was the pole-sitter and attempted to aggressively fend off Verstappen on the first corner in Las Vegas, but outbraked himself and was overtaken by the Red Bull as well as George Russell.

The Brit eventually finished second in Las Vegas but was disqualified four hours after the race for excessive skid block wear underneath the car, as was McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.

As such, he only holds a 24-point lead at the top of the Drivers' Championship standings, with Verstappen pulling level with second-place Piastri.

With only two rounds, in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, left to go, Norris does not have much margin for error, especially with a sprint at the former.

"Pretty embarrassing. I need to learn from Turn One and try to do a better job than I've been doing recently," Norris told Sky Sports F1.

Always a pleasure seeing you guys out in Vegas
#McLaren pic.twitter.com/xAEl1KjykY

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) November 24, 2025

When asked about the threat Verstappen posed in the title fight, Norris later added: "It's disappointing we are not doing a better job as a team, myself included.

"I know we won in Brazil, but we weren't quick enough in Brazil relative to what Max was. They seem very good. Max is doing a very good job, and the Red Bull car seems very quick, and they are beating us.

"I just hate getting beat, simple as that. I hate that they are quicker at the minute. We've got to try and step it up a bit."