Lando Norris finished the Spanish Grand Prix of Formula 1 in third place, but left the race in Madrid frustrated after losing a victory that, according to him, was within reach. The McLaren driver stated that the performance was enough to win, but the moment of the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) and the problem during his pit stop compromised his strategy.
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Norris said he lost about twenty seconds for being the only driver on the grid who could not make a stop during the VSC, in addition to the problem with his right front wheel during the stop. As a result, even having a better pace than his rivals, he had to settle for third place.
“I feel like I had a perfect race today, my tire management was very strong and I felt a step ahead of everyone,” said Norris. The driver also highlighted that McLaren was ‘much faster by a large margin’, but described it as incredibly frustrating to lose in a way that, in his assessment, had nothing to do with performance.
Andrea Stella, team principal, shared Norris’s assessment and emphasized that the car delivered a performance above expectations: “Lando was the fastest driver on the track and absolutely deserved the victory,” he said, adding that the timing of the VSC left the team without a viable strategic alternative.
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Oscar Piastri had a much more complicated race and finished only eighth. The Australian had his front wing damaged after being squeezed by George Russell on the first lap, got stuck in traffic, and was also affected by the timing of the VSC for starting on hard tires.
After the stop, the medium tires did not deliver the expected performance, according to Piastri, who returned to traffic. Still, the Australian driver highlighted the pace shown with the hard tires on a clear track as one of the positives of the weekend.
Stella stated that despite the frustration, McLaren leaves the event with renewed confidence: “The biggest positive news is the clear evidence that our car is competitive and capable of fighting at the front,” concluded the team principal, who now looks ahead to the race in Baku.
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