'Norris' comments on Verstappen was not fair, they chose to pit'
F1 News
After the Sao Paulo GP, Lando Norris was visibly not happy with the outcome that possibly could be the final nail in the coffin for his drivers' title hopes. The Briton said after the race that Max Verstappen 'got lucky', but he later congratulated his rival on social media. According to former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde, the first statement was out of place.
Van der Garde on Norris' comments: 'Not fair, their choice'
"I don't think that's entirely fair either. In the end, he did go in. I don't think I would have done that. Of course, it started raining harder after that. But ultimately that's the choice of both teams. Both Mercedes and McLaren went in," the Dutchman began in the DRS Podcast.
"You also just know that in the current regulations, if it starts raining really hard, there will just be a red flag. If he had just kept driving, he would have been second and Max might have been fourth or fifth," the 39-year-old added, referring to the fact that Red Bull only pitted Sergio Perez at that point.
"If you have more rubber on the tyres and a higher profile, then you just have more grip with so much rain. Then you have less aquaplaning and less problems in a lot of rain. And then you also know - and again they have now found this out - when it starts raining really hard, that red flag just comes. So in the end, Red Bull and Max played it fantastic. Max afterwards was also like: I still had very good tyres, so why should I go in?" he concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Nicole Mulder
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