Karun Chandhok has admitted he is ‘quite glad’ Lando Norris did not win the Spanish Grand Prix for one reason after Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took his ninth of the year.
Sunday saw Verstappen hold off the challenge of McLaren pilot Norris and Mercedes driver George Russell to win the Spanish GP. The Red Bull star pounced on the former’s wheelspin during the start before jumping the latter on Lap 3 and weathering the storms that followed.
Norris wasted his second career pole position after struggling off the line, while a slipstream from the 24-year-old saw Russell shoot from fourth to first at Turn 1. But neither would hold a candle to Verstappen as the 26-year-old managed his pace and tyres through to the finish.
Karun Chandhok is ‘glad’ Lando Norris did not win to show McLaren are ready for more
Norris proved McLaren had pace at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya through the late laps of the Spanish GP. He reeled Verstappen in to within just 2.219 seconds come the chequered flag. But the Bristol-born driver had lost too much time in the first stint stuck behind Russell.
And Chandhok admitted after the race that he was ‘quite glad’ Norris did not take his second career win at the Spanish GP. The former HRT pilot felt it was a positive sign from the Miami GP victor that he said straight away on McLaren’s team radio that they had ‘deserved more’.
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Chandhok believes Norris finishing second in the Spanish GP and feeling disappointed about it is a really positive sign for McLaren. It proves the Woking squad are no longer happy to be second-best to Verstappen and Red Bull but are here to fight their rivals from Milton Keynes.
“It doesn’t matter really, does it?” Norris said over McLaren’s radio. “I should have won, I [messed] up the start. The car was amazing, well done, [the team] deserved more.”
To which, Chandhok said on Sky Sports F1 (23/6, 15:34): “Yep, he knows it [deserved more]. This is it, he’s finished 2.2 [seconds] off the lead. He could have ended up, without losing the start, two seconds in front.
“I’m not surprised to hear he’s disappointed. In a way, it sounds weird to say but I’m quite glad because it shows that he’s got that hunger to win.
“He’s not happy with second [place] anymore. He’s here now to win. Those days of McLaren celebrating seconds and thirds are gone. They’re now here to win which is what McLaren should be.”
Lando Norris has taken second place in the 2024 F1 drivers’ championship
Finishing the Spanish GP in second place also moved Norris into second place in the drivers’ standings. The Briton has penned 150 of his 783 career points so far in 2024 and is also the only driver to finish each of the opening 10 Grand Prix this season within the top 10 places.
But Norris trails Verstappen by 69 points and is only two points better off than Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. The Scuderia racer sealed P5 in the Spanish GP, just 0.389 seconds behind Russell. Lewis Hamilton placed one Mercedes on the podium in P3 but 15.571s from Norris.
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