Norris: "It's just bad luck"

The turning point of the season undoubtedly took place this weekend. After an ideal start of the weekend for Lando Norris, concluding with a victory in the sprint race thanks to team orders passed by McLaren to his teammate Oscar Piastri and a pole position for the race while Verstappen was only seventeenth, the British driver experienced mixed fortunes in the race and sees the gap with the Dutchman grow in the drivers' championship. A situation that he considers to be only bad luck, although his race was also difficult.

A missed departure

Even before the start, Stroll makes a mistake and retires. The FIA therefore announces that the start is aborted. However, Norris believes that the marshals have announced a new formation lap and decides to start, taking many drivers with him. A position that forced the FIA to intervene but did not result in any penalties. Nevertheless, at the time of the actual start, the winner of the Miami Grand Prix loses his first place to George Russell. Now in second position and on a wet track, overtaking possibilities are limited, and Norris is unable to find a way past the Mercedes driver.

A free stop for its rivals

Shortly before halfway through the race, the marshals deploy the virtual safety car after the incident caused by Nico Hülkenberg. The two leaders decide to stop at the pit lane to switch to a new set of intermediate tires. However, a few laps later, the rain intensified, forcing the FIA to bring out the safety car, and then the red flag after Franco Colapinto's accident. A stroke of luck for all the drivers who had not stopped, like Verstappen, who were able to benefit from a free stop, relegating the two British drivers to fourth and fifth positions. A mishap that the McLaren driver is finding hard to swallow. "Starting in the rain is always a gamble," he told Sky Sports F1. "One day it works in your favor, another day it doesn't. But it didn't change much."

« All our position losses are due to the red flag with the free pit stop for others. It's just bad luck. George probably felt like he was going to win the race today, and he probably deserved to win it more than anyone else. But sometimes, we're just unlucky, and the rules play against us. » The Briton notably criticized the FIA rule allowing drivers to change tires during a red flag, a stupid rule that nobody agrees with, according to him.

Stopping at the pit stop: a good decision according to Norris

Regarding the choice to pit during the virtual safety car period, the three-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner did not want to blame his team, believing that the decision would have paid off if a Safety Car had not intervened a few laps later. "I have confidence in the team and what they tell me. It was the right thing to do, we were just unlucky. I don't dwell on things retrospectively. It's luck for them, nothing more. They were lucky. Today, it favored them, it could have favored us if we had stayed out, but that's a stupid thing to think. Of course, the result is disappointing. It could have been better. We will keep pushing."

Now relegated to 62 points after Max Verstappen's victory, despite starting seventeenth on the grid (a feat that has only been achieved five times in the entire history of Formula 1), the McLaren driver will have to achieve a real feat to prevent the Dutchman from winning a fourth consecutive title at Red Bull.