Lando Norris lined up in pole position for the start of Saturday’s Sprint race in Shanghai with high hopes of a strong result – only to see it evaporate before his eyes as the McLaren headed into the first corner.
Norris had taken pole by over a second in dramatic fashion in a wet qualifying session on Friday, in which his crucial SQ3 lap was initially deleted for track limits but then immediately reinstated by race control.
That meant he started on the front row alongside Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. Both drivers got a decent initial launch from the grid, but it was Hamilton who had the upper hand down the inside into the long run down to turn 1.
Norris was pushed wide onto a dirty outside section of track, and not only did he lose the lead to Hamilton he also dropped multiple positions to other cars as he struggled with rear grip while trying to make the corner.
He emerged from the incident down in seventh place, merging back into the field just ahead of his team mate Oscar Piastri. He would eventually finish the 19-lap Sprint in sixth after a clash with Carlos Sainz saw Fernando Alonso retire.
“Tough race, not what we were hoping for, but [we got] a few points,” he said. “Definitely more points were up for grabs, but obviously a few mistakes cost me.
“I just lost it, nothing else to say,” Norris told the media in the Shanghai paddock after the chequered flag when asked for his view on what happened at the start.
“Obviously we tried to keep it on the outside, but just with this tarmac, [I ran] a little bit wide, coldish tyres and I just lost the rear,” he lamented.
“A shame, but it happens,” he acknowledged. “I feel like they [Mercedes] were quicker than us – but not a lot.
“I feel like we probably would have ended up in a similar position anyway, but Lewis ended up a lot further ahead,” he suggested. “Our pace was pretty poor, then we picked up a bit of damage at the end.
“A bit frustrating. But anyway, I think we struggled a lot with our pace. I was just hanging on with the DRS otherwise I would have dropped back massively.
Norris had apologised to the team for his poor start over the team radio, but McLaren team principal Andrea Stella defended Norris’ performance.
“Lando certainly doesn’t need to apologise, but he knows he could have done better,” Stella told Sky Sports F1 in the paddock. “Don’t worry Lando, you haven’t disappointed the team!
“It just gives us a sense of the kind of person he is, like he has disappointed the team,” he added. “We appreciate the maximum effort and work as a team.”
“We need to give you a better car, and then things will became much easier rather than always being on the limit to bring important results,” he said. “It’s more up to us, the men and women at McLaren, who are working hard to improve the car.”
Piastri also had a frustrating day, stuck in a DRS train behind his team mate and finishing in seventh ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell.
With the McLaren not delivering the same level of performance in the dry than it had on Friday, the team will be keen to get their hands on the car and make changes in the brief period parc ferme conditions don’t apply before qualifying.
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‘I just lost it’: Norris laments Sprint first corner mistake F1i.com.
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