Lando Norris left the Belgian Formula 1 GP frustrated, pointing to McLaren’s strategy as one of the decisive factors for his final result. The British driver believes he had enough pace to fight for victory in the race, but stated that the team made his mission even more complicated at Spa-Francorchamps.
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After starting only in 13th position due to a ten-place grid penalty for changing a fourth control electronics unit, Norris faced a recovery race. Still, the Briton believes that the decisions made during the race prevented a more direct fight for the podium.
McLaren chose to extend Norris’s first stint as much as possible, keeping the driver on track for thirty laps with the same set of tires. The strategy became even more controversial when a virtual safety car period opened a window for a stop that could have been more favorable for him.
While Ferrari and Oscar Piastri took advantage of the neutralization to pit, the Woking team decided not to make a double stop and asked Norris to stay on track, temporarily taking the lead. The choice, however, left the Briton vulnerable, allowing Charles Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli, Max Verstappen, and his own teammate to overtake him later.
When he finally pitted on lap 31, Norris still faced an additional setback. A problem with the left rear wheel prolonged the stop to 7.8 seconds, further aggravating the time loss accumulated throughout the race.
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“I think the pace was incredible, to be honest. Honestly, I believe it was enough to easily get a podium today. Of course, everything became more difficult due to the fact that I started in 13th,” he stated.
Norris also highlighted the impact of the virtual safety car on his strategy: “The virtual safety cars appeared at bad times for us. They perfectly benefited those on hard tires and came a bit early for me. This is something we will review to see if we could have stopped at that moment,” he added.
According to the current F1 champion, the total damage was significant: “I lost ten seconds because of that and another five or six in the pit stop. That’s sixteen seconds added to my race time, which made my life incredibly difficult, especially starting in 13th. I don’t think we could have made our race more difficult today. The pace was enough for a podium or even to win, so it’s a shame we couldn’t even try,” he concluded.
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