Lando Norris believes Max Verstappen was so much faster than McLaren in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix that “he probably would have lapped us.”
Verstappen started 17th on the grid, but having climbed into the top three he took advantage of a red flag period to make a free tire change and went on to win by over 20s. Such was the pace Verstappen showed in scything through the field and then pulling away in the wet, Norris — who started on pole but finished sixth — believes McLaren didn’t have the performance to match even if he’d struggled for the top speed to overtake.
“No, if anything, wing was helping today,” Norris said. “We weren’t quick enough. Max was easily quicker than us so I think if he went from the front, he probably would have lapped us. The pace was good. I think similar to George [Russell], but the Red Bull was way faster.
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“It’s been an up and down weekend for sure. Not a lot more I could do. I’m sure George probably feels like he [could have] won the race today. He deserved it more than anyone else. I’d probably have finished third realistically, so it’s tough. Max probably would have come through anyway and probably beaten us, but… yeah, just unlucky for us. Nothing more than that. I made a couple of mistakes which I own up to and which cost me a couple of positions in the end.”
Norris says the decision to fit new intermediate tires as rain intensified was the right one even though Red Bull and Alpine both benefitted from staying out and gaining during the red flag period.
“The right time to box — it was the right thing, so no regrets, just unlucky,” he said. “It’s a silly rule that no one agrees with, but you’ll always agree with it when it benefits you, you know? Every driver said that they don’t agree with it and they wanted it changed. It’s just unfortunate, but it’s the rule. You win some, you lose some. It benefited them today, so… Well done to them.”
Norris could still face a post-race penalty for a starting procedure infringement, with the stewards investigating the moment he pulled away from the grid for a second formation lap when the original start was aborted. George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson are under investigation for the same incident.