Lando Norris admitted to a sense of disappointment after finishing sixth in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix, a race in which he had been considered a strong contender for victory.
Starting from fourth on the grid at Spa-Francorchamps, the McLaren driver had high hopes of sealing a second career win in F1, especially given Max Verstappen’s 10-place grid penalty.
However, a crucial error at the start when he understeered on the exit of La Source, saw the Briton drop several positions at the outset which significantly impacted his race.
“Yeah, I just misjudged it, honestly,” Norris explained after the race in which his teammate Oscar Piastri claimed the final spot on the podium.
“I just didn’t want to get taken out in Turn 1, so I left the gap and just misjudged the exit a little bit.”
The setback compelled McLaren’s strategists to extend Norris’ opening stint on the medium tyre.
However, an unexpected overall lack of tyre degradation among his rivals led to an equally surprising scarcity of overtaking opportunities.
Norris had advanced to second before his switch to the hard rubber and managed to stabilize his position among the top six thereafter, but progress was hard to come by despite his car’s strong pace.
“Just impossible to overtake,” commented the Briton. “The overtaking sucked today. I think there was very few overtakes actually done on track. Most of it was just in the pit stops.
“There were some overtakes, but only when you had a 10-lap tyre advantage.
“Otherwise, yeah, a bit of a tough race with the overtaking. I felt like we were quick, the car was quick. I just don’t feel like we maximised what we could have done.”
With the summer break approaching, Norris will have a chance to reset and recharge before the second half of the season.
The missed opportunity in Belgium will undoubtedly serve as extra motivation for the young Briton who admitted wasting several opportunities to convert McLaren’s strong pace into race wins.
“We all need it, but I think I just need it to reset,” Norris admitted.
“I’ve given away a lot of points over the last three or four races, just because of stupid stuff. Mistakes and bad starts. Turn 1 now.
“I don’t know why, it’s just silly things, it’s not even difficult stuff.
“It’s just Turn 1, trying to stay out of trouble, trying to make sure there’s a gap and not get hit. And then I put myself off the track. Just some stupid things.
“The pace was good, the team were doing an amazing job, so I’m happy. In a way, I feel like I just don’t want to take a break, I just want to continue because we’re in good form.
“Even today, I felt like the pace was very strong. The last 2 or 3 races, I’ve just not clicked as much as I needed to.
“I’ve given up a lot of points, so hopefully I can come back stronger.”
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