It couldn't have gone worse. Brazilian GP for Lando Norris, who finished his race in sixth position behind Leclerc. The balance is disarming: a closed issue for the drivers' championship and points lost for the constructors' standings. Mistakes and a lack of brilliance in the second part of the race, but for Norris it was just bad luck.
Norris only sixth in Brazil: yet another missed opportunity
Here we go again: things didn't go as McLaren and Norris expected. Yet the weekend was going according to plan. Saturday: one-two in the sprint for the team and victory for the young English driver. Sunday morning: the downpour comes down during the qualifications. Despite initial difficulties, Norris managed to take pole position. Great, if only the race hadn't taken place four hours later. In fact, during the latter, we saw the limits of a driver who is certainly a promising driver, but certainly not yet a world champion. On the one hand, Verstappen, who outclassed everyone, underlined this subtle difference. On the other hand, Norris himself.
The trouble began even before the start. During the usual formation lap, Lance Stroll lost control of his Aston Martin in turn 4 and got stuck in the sand on the escape road. The start was thus aborted, but Norris, in circumstances that are still unclear, once he reached his pit stop, restarted instead of turning off the engine and waiting. After being placed under investigation by the stewards, the English driver let George Russell pass him at the start, only to regain the lead shortly before the red flag caused by Colapinto's accident.
Probably then, during the interruption of the race, the fact that Verstappen would restart in second position behind Ocon, could have demoralized the Papaya team and Norris himself. Once back on track, in fact, the latter was no longer the same. First he lost two positions in favor of Russell and Leclerc, finally he was no longer able to recover at least on the Ferrari driver, despite the Monegasque being in great difficulty. And so a script went into action that Norris and his team, unfortunately, seem to interpret well. Only this time the cost of their negligence is quite burning: goodbye drivers' championship and Ferrari still close in the constructors' championship.
Despite everything, Norris does not blame himself: "I couldn't have done much more"
Everyone would have expected a dejected and very angry Norris. Instead, in the usual post-race interviews, the English driver also let a few smiles show, even if understandably bitter. This is what happened to Mara Sangiorgio's Sky microphone, with Norris who, regarding what happened during the starting procedure, responded almost pretending that nothing had happened.What do I expect from the investigation? Nothing, I didn't understand what happened“. Finally, when the Italian journalist asked him what he thought of the slowness with which the judges were deciding on the matter with the World Championship still open, the Englishman snubbed the question with “I have no idea, next question".
In short, an apparent calm and serenity, as it should be, which however transformed itself in the post-race into an acidity and nervousness impossible not to notice. Even the comments on the race, as reported by Motorsport.com, are more or less of the same tenor. These, unfortunately, tell of a fragile driver, who after this season will still have to grow a lot in terms of personality, both on and off the track. His analysis of the race is in fact questionable. "I did everything I could today. That's it. Max won the race. Good for him, but it doesn't change anything for me. Max was faster than us and I think if he had started in front he would have lapped us. The pace was good, I think similar to Russell, but the Red Bull was very fast today".
Furthermore, Norris, on the one hand admitted the Dutchman's superiority, on the other hand clumsily tried to minimize it by talking about lucky episodes in his favor. The number 4 McLaren is referring to when the team called him to the pits to change tires, while Verstappen chose to stay on the track until the red flag, which according to Norris should have been shown before Colapinto's accident due to the extreme weather conditions. "We did nothing wrong, I don't care what people say. Staying out was not the right thing to do. It should have been a red flag, but then there was an accident that caused the red flag. Sometimes it's just luck, they took a gamble, it paid off for them. It's not talent, it's just luck. We've been unlucky.i".
Lando Norris's comment on Verstappen's masterful race in the rain was really piqued and unsportsmanlike. Labeling such a performance as something to be blamed only on luck underlines the strong anxiety in which the English driver is sailing. Perhaps, for Norris, it will be better for this season to end soon. It will be up to him then, during the winter break, to reflect and look inside himself. Calmly and, hopefully, with maturity.
