Lando Norris denied his mistakes cost him a win to Max Verstappen in the Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix as he argued that Red Bull was “way faster” than McLaren.
Norris started in pole position in Brazil, but he relinquished the lead at the start when George Russell slipped his Mercedes up the inside heading into the opening turn.
But while he admitted that “wheelspin” saw him give up ground to Russell at the launch, Norris believes the “left side could have been better than the right” on the grid.
The Briton lost additional spots to the Alpine drivers and Max Verstappen when he made a pit stop prior to Franco Colapinto’s crash resulting in a stoppage on Lap 32.
Norris dismissed that McLaren made the incorrect call to stop on Lap 28 as he voiced his disdain towards the rule that allows drivers to change tyres under a red flag.
“I had the right time to box,” he asserted to media including Motorsport Week. “Yeah, it was the right thing. No regrets, just unlucky.
“It’s a silly rule that no one agrees with. But you’ll always agree with it when it benefits you. Every driver said that they don’t agree with it and they wanted it changed.
“So it’s just unfortunate. But it’s a rule. You win some, you lose some. It benefited them [Verstappen] today, so well done to them.”
Verstappen managed to overtake Esteban Ocon on the restart to attain the lead and he stormed clear in the wet to record a dominant win from 17th place on the grid.
Meanwhile, Norris venturing wide at Turn 4 cost him the spot he had gained on Russell, while a moment on the next restart at Turn 1 sent him behind Charles Leclerc.
McLaren utilising team orders saw Oscar Piastri cede a place to his team-mate, but Norris was unable to trouble Leclerc’s Ferrari and the polesitter trailed home sixth.
Norris is adamant that the pace Verstappen delivered in the closing exchanges shows that Red Bull had a faster package than McLaren in the treacherous conditions.
“We weren’t quick enough,” he admitted. “Max was easily quicker than us.
“I think if he went from the front, he probably would have lapped us. Pace was good. I think similar to George, but the Red Bull was way faster.”
Red Bull quicker than McLaren in Brazil
Norris has insisted Red Bull’s pace advantage over McLaren was so vast that Verstappen was bound to catch him even had he and the team executed a flawless race.
“Yeah, it’s been quite a day,” he reviewed. “Not a lot more I can do.
“I’m sure George probably feels like he won the race today. He deserved it more than anyone else.
“I probably finished third, realistically. It’s tough. Max probably would have come through anyway and probably beaten us.
“Yeah, just unlucky for us, but nothing more than that. I made a couple of mistakes, which I didn’t have to, and it cost me a couple of positions in the end.”
Norris not downbeat about championship blow
Verstappen’s win ended a drought stretching back to June and has witnessed him extend his championship lead over Norris to 62 points with three rounds remaining.
Asked how hard it would be to digest the result, Norris replied: “Quite easy. I did what I could today, that’s all. Max won the race, good on him. He didn’t change anything.”
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