Lando Norris started the sprint race from pole position, but was unable to take the first starting spot. Max Verstappen already attacked the McLaren driver in turn one and took the lead. Norris was left scratching his head because he fell back even further and saw his chance for a first Formula 1 victory (once again) slip through his fingers. Afterwards, the young Briton was critical of himself, despite his second place in the last Sprint of the season.
During his cool-down lap, Norris was clearly not satisfied with his second place, as his message over the on-board radio showed. After the sprint race, the 23-year-old had to admit that he was left with a number of questions about what exactly went wrong. ‘If I’m honest… I got away well at the start, but the second phase wasn’t good. We have to analyze that.’ At the Interlagos circuit, the pole sitter traditionally starts on the outside and the second, in this case Verstappen, on the inside. That also played an important role according to Norris. “The one on the inside can make a lot of easy moves going into turn one,” he concluded.
Both Mercedes drivers had a good start to the race. George Russell, who started in P4, passed Sergio Pérez like an arrow. Next it was Norris’s turn. The latter explained how that could happen. ‘George took advantage of the fact that I wasn’t alert enough. They (Mercedes, ed.) pushed from the start and in the end they paid the price for it.’ Norris was clear in his analysis afterwards: Russell could have done better. “If he had managed his tires better he could have finished ahead of me,” the Briton told Sky F1.
Verstappen’s Red Bull causes frustration
Red Bull and Verstappen, on the other hand, did not experience any decline and so Norris had no chance against the world champion. ‘Red Bull and Max were too fast for us. I initially thought I could follow them, but that turned out not to be the case.’ Despite the fact that the McLaren driver had clearly hoped for more, he treated his team to the necessary compliments afterwards. ‘I am very proud of the team when we approach races in this way and reflect on where we started and where we are now.’
Verstappen can take his seventeenth win of the season this weekend in Brazil. Also betting on F1? Register now at JACKS and receive 60 euros in free bets! If you play responsibly, you keep it fun. What does gambling cost you? Stop on time, 18+
