IMAGO / PanoramiC
Lando Norris’ wait for a victory in F1 continued after another missed opportunity at the Chinese GP Sprint. The McLaren driver, who started at pole, made a costly error on lap 1 that dropped him down to P7 within seconds. While Norris’ mistake did take another golden chance at a win away from him, it was Lewis Hamilton’s strategy that did more wonders.
Hamilton launched well off the line, which unsettled Norris. Going side by side with Hamilton at turn one, Norris experienced oversteer on a part of the track that didn’t have a lot of grip. Hence, he went off track allowing five drivers to overtake him instantaneously.
Peter Windsor, on his YouTube channel, spoke about the incident between Norris and Hamilton after the Sprint race in Shanghai. The outside line was the more difficult approach for Norris in turn one, but Windsor doesn’t blame him for holding his position and trying to get the better of Hamilton from there.
He said,
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“He’d [Hamilton] got the better run down into turn one, Lando on the outside, and his thinking was well, there’s a left-hander at the end of all, if I can stay there on the outside, I can still be on the inside for that left-hander, I could still take the lead. ”
Windsor then pointed out how Norris ran out of room and grip after going side-by-side for two-thirds of the long right-hander. He lost several positions, and by the time he rejoined the track, it was too late.
Lando Norris’ missed opportunity in China
Norris’ mistake on the first lap dropped him down to seventh, and in just 19 laps, there wasn’t much he could have done to get to the front of the pack again.
Norris did make up a place, finishing the Chinese GP Sprint in P6, but that was down to Fernando Alonso’s retirement. The DRS train ahead of the Bristol-born driver, prevented him from making amends for his costly error.
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Ahead of Norris a group of drivers – Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez – were locked in a battle for P3. Norris couldn’t find the pace to catch up to these drivers and be a part of that battle. He had to concede, and settle for P6, earning three points for McLaren on the afternoon.
Norris will be ruing another missed opportunity to win a race in F1. He came close to winning a few times in the past too, but mostly, errors on his part took those chances away. Norris apologized for the same after the Sprint, but McLaren boss Andrea Stella insisted that it is the team’s job to keep providing Norris with more opportunities to win races with a better car.
