Lando Norris suffered a knockout blow to his Championship aspirations in Brazil. The British driver lost almost 20 points to Max Verstappen, with the Dutchman delivering a masterclass from P17. However, Norris believes misfortune was his biggest obstacle at Interlagos.
Verstappen crushes McLaren title hopes
Heading into the Brazilian GP, there was every reason for Norris to close the gap to Verstappen in the standings.
Starting from Pole Position, it seemed almost certain the British driver would cross the chequered flag ahead of Verstappen – who started from the back.
Unfortunately for Norris, the 69-lap race in Brazil saw Max Verstappen deliver an outstanding performance.
A combination of brilliant pace, fantastic race craft and bold strategy calls allowed the Dutchman to claim victory.
Meanwhile, a series of mistakes and incorrect pit-stop calls were costly for Lando Norris.
Norris: “Nothing we did wrong”
Perhaps most critically, the decision to stop as conditions worsened (and a red flag was likely) cost Norris track position.
This was decisive in allowing Verstappen to take victory.
However, from Norris’ perspective, strategy did not cost him at Interlagos.
“You can change your tyres under the red flag, that’s what the others did.
“Just unlucky, unfortunate – sometimes it just goes your way.
“Nothing we did wrong, I don’t care what people say. Staying out was not the right thing to do.
“It shouldn’t have been red flagged – but obviously there was a crash in the end which caused the red.
“That’s life sometimes. You take a gamble, it’s paid off for them. It’s not talent, it’s just luck.
“So yeah, a bit unlucky – that’s all.”
For the majority of the season, McLaren’s MCL38 has been the fastest car.
Red Bull have battled with relatively stagnant development since May – often failing to match the performance unlocked by the Woking factory.
Despite this, it is Max Verstappen who is within touching distance of a fourth World Championship.
Not for the first time in 2024, Norris and McLaren fell short – whilst Red Bull and Verstappen rose to the challenge.
