Norris unhappy about losing more ground on Verstappen: "I hate it"
F1 News
For Lando Norris, the British Grand Prix was yet another missed opportunity. After having the opportunity to take a solid P2 behind the race-winner Lewis Hamilton after the Mercedes driver undercut Norris in the pits, the wrong tyre was selected by McLaren. The red-walled soft tyre was put onto the Brit's car which did not work effectively, allowing championship rival Max Verstappen to close the gap from third and take second before the chequered flag. It's another bit of ground lost by Norris and gained by Verstappen, who increased his championship lead in Silverstone and left the McLaren driver very unhappy post-race.
Norris 'blames himself' for continuing to lose ground in the title battle
Since his victory at the Miami Grand Prix, the 24-year-old has been close to another victory, but small mistakes from either himself or his team have let him down. At the Canadian Grand Prix, a missed pit stop under the safety car squandered a win, as did a poor start from pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix. The collision with Verstappen and subsequent DNF at the Austrian Grand Prix was yet more points lost as the Dutchman finished in P5, and then the wrong choice of tyres in the final stint at Silverstone meant Verstappen beat him to P2, losing out to the Red Bull driver again in the title battle.
"I'm not making the right decisions," said a displeased Norris after his P3 at his home race. "At the same time, I blame myself today for not making some of the right decisions. I hate it. I hate ending in this position and forever having excuses for not doing a good enough job."
Norris knows that a turnaround in the World Championship standings is needed soon with the 2024 season reaching its halfway stage, knowing that letting slip any more opportunities will see the chance to win the 2024 title disappear before his eyes. However, the Brit knows the change in fortunes for him and McLaren have been huge in the last year, and there was still a lot of positivity from Norris after earning just his second home race podium.
"I'm still going to enjoy it," continued Norris. "I think we still did so many things right. So many positives. But especially here in Silverstone, the one place I would love everything to go perfectly, it didn't today. But I'm good. We'll come back stronger next year and try again."