Lando Norris: « I have been too conservative »
Lando Norris didn't manage to hold onto his first position for long. Right from the first braking point of the race, the British driver had to give way.
For the first time since the Russian Grand Prix in 2021, Lando Norris started a race in first position. Although he came close to falling back, the McLaren driver managed to bring back the best result he could during the sprint race at Interlagos.
Facing the superior pace of Red Bull, managing to maintain the lead of the race at the start is one of the only solutions to lead a few laps and potentially create chances of winning. Lando Norris was unable to do so and had to back down at the first braking point. Not only did the British driver lose his first position, but he also lost the second position a little later to his compatriot George Russell.
Fortunately for Zak Brown, the slow descent of his driver was going to stop there. The McLaren number 4 managed to find its rhythm again and overtook Russell’s Mercedes as early as the fifth lap of the race. For a brief moment, he managed to keep Verstappen’s pace at a distance, but the RB19’s pace was impossible to keep up with. Norris had to settle for a solid second place, confirming that he is the second strong man of this second part of the season.
« I don’t think Max had more power from the start. I think I had more power. I need to review what happened because my initial impulse was good but in the second phase, he went directly to my level. I was also a bit too conservative. I tried to keep up with Max’s pace but I didn’t have enough rhythm. »
Unlike his teammate Oscar Piastri in Qatar, Lando Norris failed to turn his pole position into a victory. However, today, the contrast between the two McLaren drivers was striking. One managed to finish ahead of the second Red Bull, while the other finished ahead of Daniel Ricciardo’s AlphaTauri.
