Norris reveals why he left Spa extremely disappointed
Lando Norris believes McLaren had the pace to challenge for a podium at the Belgian Grand Prix but says a combination of ill-timed Virtual Safety Cars and a technical issue during his pit stop turned a promising afternoon into a disappointing seventh-place finish.
Starting 13th on the grid after taking fresh power unit components, Norris quickly carved his way through the field at Spa-Francorchamps. Running an alternative strategy, the Briton completed an extended opening stint on the hard tyres and briefly inherited the race lead before making his sole pit stop.
However, the timing of the Virtual Safety Car periods benefited several of his rivals, while a slow pit stop caused by a technical problem cost Norris valuable track position. He ultimately crossed the line in seventh despite displaying competitive race pace throughout the afternoon.
Reflecting on the race, Norris admitted the result did not reflect McLaren's true potential. The Briton felt the car had been capable of fighting much closer to the front all weekend.
"Mixed feelings today. The potential was extremely high this weekend in terms of my feeling for the car and the pace being strong enough to probably challenge for a podium finish."
Norris said his confidence behind the wheel was one of the biggest positives to take away from Spa. Despite that encouraging pace, Norris was left frustrated by the way events unfolded during the race.
"I felt very confident with the balance and knew exactly what the car was going to do, which is a huge positive for us going forward. It's a slight shame about the result though everything that could have made our life difficult today, did."
He pointed to the timing of the Virtual Safety Cars, which allowed several rivals to make cheaper pit stops. Norris also revealed that a technical issue during his pit stop cost him crucial seconds.
"We were unlucky with the timing of the VSCs, which helped our rivals. The unfortunate delay with a technical issue on the pit stop cost a significant amount of time which ultimately translates into track position and points."
The McLaren driver admitted it was particularly disappointing to miss out when the car had shown such strong pace.
"When you have the pace to achieve a great result but are held back by challenging factors like that, it's frustrating."
Despite the setback, Norris said the team would immediately turn its attention to understanding what happened before next weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.
"We will now work to analyse what went wrong and learn from it before hitting track in Hungary," Norris concluded.
