Lando Norris has pinpointed the moment that he lost the Spanish Grand Prix while chasing Max Verstappen.
The McLaren driver qualified on pole after beating Max Verstappen by 0.020s, having improved his lap time by nearly half a second between Q2 and Q3.
The Briton put it down to a new ability he has to get more comfortable and unlock more potential from the car at crucial moments.
During the race Norris utilised a two-stop strategy, starting on new soft tyres and then switching to the medium, before running a slightly used set of softs in the final stint. He failed to convert his pole into a win, missing out by just 2.2 seconds from Verstappen at the finish line.
Lando Norris highlights the moment that ‘ruined everything’ for his Spanish GP win chances
Norris has pin-pointed the main area that cost him crucial time and potentially forfeited the race win to Verstappen for a second race in a row when speaking to F1 TV.
“I got a bad start, simple as that. The car was incredible today, we were for sure the quickest, I just lost it in the beginning. Disappointed, but a lot of positives, one negative and that kind of ruined everything. I know that and I can just work on making it better for next time, so big thanks to the team because the car was amazing,” said Norris.
“I need to look back and review, I don’t know whether I was just slightly out [of position], it was only a little bit to Max [Verstappen] that I lost out it wasn’t like it was a lot, it was more that George [Russell] was on the outside and had me all over.
“I’m excited. We’re on a good roll, I just need to tidy up a few little bits and we’ll be on top.”
Three key incidents that cost Lando Norris in Barcelona
The start was just one of three key moments that cost Norris during the Spanish GP.
After he ran side-by-side with Verstappen into Turn 1, both were overtaken by George Russell in a stunning move to take the lead around the outside of the fast and sweeping right-hander.
Verstappen managed to overtake Russell within a lap, but Norris was stuck behind in a stalemate with the Mercedes driver. He opted to extend his stint on the new soft tyres, but by this point Russell had pitted for a new set of mediums.
READ MORE: Five unforgettable Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona including Senna vs Mansell
Norris lost time to early stoppers Russell and Carlos Sainz, which put him behind them when he made his first pit stop. Despite getting past Sainz with ease, Russell put up more of a fight and cost the McLaren driver around 4.8 seconds.
This set Norris on course for tough head-to-head with Verstappen, as he needed to recuperate the lost time to the Red Bull driver. A blistering middle stint enabled McLaren to get him out ahead of Russell during his final pit stop, despite being around six-tenths slower than usual, and give him the space to catch Verstappen.
The time lost in the middle stint fighting Russell started to take effect with 15 laps to go, as Norris struggled to cut the gap to Verstappen as their tyres wore off. Norris lost out by 2.2 seconds at the line, which could be attributed to all three key moments in that race going against him.
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