BARCELONA, SPAIN – JUNE 23: Second placed Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren watches in the park … (+)
The fact that no one could be happy with him on Sunday after he finished second in the Spanish Grand Prix speaks volumes about how far Lando Norris has come.
The Briton cemented his status as Max Verstappen’s biggest challenger this season, finishing two seconds behind the three-time world champion on a track where Red Bull had won in the past two years.
But Norris’ frustration prevailed. The McLaren driver started on pole position but was overtaken by Verstappen and George Russell in the first corner, with the latter taking the lead.
“I should have won, but I messed up the start,” said a dejected Norris after the race.
“This one thing (the beginning) cost me everything.
“From Turn 2 onwards it was 10 out of 10. I don’t think I could have achieved much more and I think we had the perfect strategy as a team. I’m very happy with what we achieved.
“But yes. One part of the start, the one percent elsewhere, was not good enough.”
Verstappen overtook Russell early on lap three and had a five-second lead over Norris when the Briton finally overtook the Mercedes, forcing McLaren to change strategy.
Why a sloppy start cost Norris
While the Red Bull pitted on lap 17, McLaren left Norris out until lap 23 to compensate for the Dutchman’s track advantage with fresher tires.
It was a bold move, but it meant the Briton resumed racing behind Lewis Hamilton and Russell, who finished third and fourth respectively.
It took him four laps to get past the two Mercedes, with him and Russell swapping positions twice in an exciting driving situation at the start of lap 35.
BARCELONA, SPAIN – JUNE 23: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands drives the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing … (+)
By the time Red Bull made its next pit stop, Norris had already reduced the gap to Verstappen from nine to five seconds before he stopped himself three laps later.
He reappeared just ahead of Russell and eight seconds behind Verstappen, and although he managed to close the gap to four seconds, he ran out of laps before he could get close enough to his rival.
Although the result did not please Norris, an openly self-critical driver, it was another reminder of how much smaller the gap is between McLaren and Red Bull.
McLaren is a serious threat to Red Bull
McLaren was faster than Red Bull all weekend in Barcelona, a track that has long been considered a true test of technology and aerodynamics.
“Today we clearly lacked the necessary pace a little,” said Verstappen after the race.
“Now it’s up to us to get a little more (performance) and regain the small lead.”
Papaya is now clearly the biggest threat to Red Bull, far more so than to Ferrari, who could only manage fifth and sixth places with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc respectively after a dismal double DNF in Canada two weeks ago.
The Scuderia is second in the constructors’ championship, 60 points behind Red Bull, with McLaren a further 33 points behind. But while Ferrari’s progress has stalled over the last month, Papaya is on a roll.
“We have to fight really hard for the wins at the moment,” said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.
“We have to perform at our best as a team and the drivers have to perform at their best too. That’s Formula 1 and that’s how it should be.”
A similar picture emerges in the drivers’ standings: Verstappen leads with 69 points ahead of Norris, Leclerc is two points behind the Briton.
Since his first Formula One victory in Miami in May, Norris finished second behind Verstappen in three of the next four races.
Norris has reason to regret missed opportunities
“We should have gained a few points on Max. We might have had a chance to beat him in Canada (two weeks ago),” said Norris when asked if he thought he could snatch the title from Verstappen.
“I was second in two races and he won.”
However, Norris admitted that his Red Bull rival remains the favourite to win a fourth consecutive world title.
“But Max has to stop winning. He’s still trying at the moment, but we can’t afford to let him get away with it,” he said.
BARCELONA, SPAIN – JUNE 23: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing … (+)
“If I had made better decisions in Canada and had a better start today, we would have won two races.
“We have what it takes. It’s just a matter of bringing it all together.”
The Formula 1 season moves on to Austria and Great Britain over the next two weeks, two tracks where McLaren and Norris have excelled in recent seasons.
“We are on the right track,” Norris said.
“I just have to tidy up a few little things and then we’ll be at the top.”
The gauntlet was finally thrown down to Red Bull.
