Brundle explains Norris's new championship lead over Verstappen
F1 News
- Savannah Lenz
Despite Lando Norris's victory in Melbourne at the Australian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen drove an amazing race. He finished second behind Norris, which means he is now also second in the championship. For the first time in 1029 days, he is not in first place. Martin Brundle wrote about this after the Australian Grand Prix.
Brundle on Verstappen and Norris
"Norris had been very fast on each restart and did so again. But dipping a tyre in the gravel on the infamous turn six lost him time, and Verstappen was on his tail with powerful DRS open rear wings now available. With very calm and sage advice from his engineer Will Joseph on the pit wall, Lando didn't buckle in the slightest, and took a spectacular victory, effectively winning back-to-back races after his victory in Abu Dhabi late last year. He leads the world championship for the first time, and it's the first time in 1029 days that anyone other than Max has led," Brundle explained in his column at Sky Sports.
Horrible weekend for Lawson at Red Bull
Lawson, on the other hand, did not have as good a weekend. The Red Bull Racing driver was off pace during free practice and went out in Q1 during qualifying. During the race on Sunday, he ended up not finishing after sliding off the track.
He wrote, "Liam Lawson of Red Bull, in particular, will be very happy that we head immediately into another race week so that he can hopefully park the misery and errors he endured in Melbourne and put them right. That team doesn't do cuddles and reassuring words, and nor should they at this level. P45s are more their thing if you can't keep Verstappen at least in view from time to time."
Brundle concluded his column with a nod to Norris. "Norris has significantly moved his mental and driving game on, and an immediate 23-point advantage over Piastri may prove very significant, too. We wait to see his performance in the inevitable wheel-to-wheel combat with both Piastri and Verstappen"
This article was written in collaboration with Esteban den Toom
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels!