Lando Norris expressed his disappointment at missing out on a potential victory in the Spanish Grand Prix. The McLaren driver criticized his own performance, stating that it was not up to par. He attributed his loss of positions at the start of the race as the main reason for not being able to secure the win. Despite starting from pole position, Norris was overtaken by both Max Verstappen and George Russell, which ultimately hindered his chances of victory. Verstappen went on to build a comfortable lead, while Norris found himself stuck behind the Mercedes in the early stages of the race. Although he managed to recover and make his way back up to second place, he finished 2.2 seconds behind Verstappen. Reflecting on the race, Norris believed that McLaren had the fastest car on the track but his poor start and inability to pass Russell in the first stint cost him the win. He praised his team for their strategy and felt satisfied with their overall performance, except for the start. Norris admitted that his reaction time to the lights was similar to Verstappen’s, but he lost out in the second phase, allowing the Dutchman to gain the inside line. However, he acknowledged that even if he had a slightly better start, the long run to the first corner and the slipstream effect would have still put Russell in the lead. Norris accepted that George’s good start was a factor that he couldn’t control and ultimately affected the outcome of the race.
McLaren chose to prolong Norris’ race stints and the fresher tires aided him in surpassing Sainz’s Ferrari, as well as Hamilton and Russell’s Mercedes.
Norris had to put in effort to overtake Russell as their duel lasted six turns until Norris gained the advantage and the latter acknowledged that it cost him against Verstappen.
“It was a satisfying battle,” he recalled. “It did cost me some time and affected my gap to Max in the end, but yeah, it was enjoyable.
“I was on the brink, it was a close fight, and I have been very respectful.”
Norris admitted that McLaren missed an opportunity to win in the previous race in Canada, but he admitted that this race bothered him more because it came down to his own mistake.
When asked if this was more frustrating than Montreal, Norris replied: “Certainly, because that was more of a decision, an incorrect decision or a lack of decision-making.
“We were definitely not the fastest car in Montreal. Mercedes was clearly the fastest car.
“But today we were the fastest, we had the superior car out there, and I didn’t make the most of it.
“The start is my responsibility, following instructions and executing them. And without that, or with a good start, we should have easily secured the victory.”