Frustrated Norris says Verstappen was 'lucky' to win in Brazil
F1 News
Starting from P1 on the grid, after a chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix, Lando Norris finished only in sixth position. Talking to Sky Sports following the race, Norris said he was just not lucky today in Sao Paulo, unlike his championship rival Max Verstappen.
"All about position loss. We were just under the red flag with the free pit stop for the others, so unfortunate, nothing more," the Briton began after the Grand Prix. After both restarts, the Briton made mistakes that cost him down, and fell back to P7. He finished sixth after McLaren told Oscar Piastri to let him through, as the Australian already had a 10-second penalty
"I made a couple of mistakes that cost me against George and cost me against Charles. Nothing more. It was a tough day, I did my best. I've had a lot of good races, it was about time that something didn't go right," Norris continued giving his verdict, after he scored 18 points less than Verstappen at Interlagos.
'Verstappen got lucky'
Max Verstappen started the Grand Prix from P17, and after Franco Colapinto crashed his Williams, the red flag was waved. As a result, while Norris and George Russell pitted together, they fell back in the order, while the Dutchman could do a so-called 'free' pit stop given the race was stopped.
"It was just unlucky. I don't care about the hindsight side of things, that's luck for them, nothing more. They got lucky on a rule that no one agrees with. Probably them they agreed with it but every driver has disagreed with it in the past," Norris said.
"Today it benefitted then, it could have benefitted us if we just stayed out, but that's a stupid thing to think of. Just a bit unlucky today, nothing more. Of course, disappointing. [Max] drove well, he got a bit lucky but that's life."
As a result, the current gap between the two drivers stands at 62 points in the drivers' standings, with three Grands Prix and a Sprint event in Qatar to go. The F1 season will resume in three weeks time in Las Vegas.
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