McLaren disgusted by Norris' bad luck: "We were winning this race by 20 to 25 seconds"

Zak Brown believes that Lando Norris was untouchable in Madrid and would have easily won the race without a virtual safety car at a cruel timing.

At McLaren, Lando Norris’s third place at the Spanish Grand Prix is hard to accept. The Briton seemed on course for a comfortable victory at the Madring before a virtual safety car completely disrupted a race he had controlled from the start.

For Zak Brown, there is little doubt that Norris would have won without this incident. The McLaren CEO even believes that his driver had enough pace to finish with a lead of between 20 and 25 seconds. But by a few seconds, the scenario turned against him twice.

A few seconds that cost Norris the victory

After his pole position snatched by only 11 thousandths from Kimi Antonelli, Norris immediately confirmed his pace in the race. The McLaren driver perfectly managed the start before gradually pulling away from the Mercedes.

After 14 laps, he seemed to be in control when Lance Stroll stopped, causing the deployment of the virtual safety car. The problem for Norris was that the neutralization started just a few seconds after his passage in front of the pit entry.

Antonelli and Max Verstappen, who were behind him, were able to immediately take advantage to make their stop losing much less time. Norris had to wait until the next lap, but the neutralization ended a few seconds before his entry into the pit lane. For Zak Brown, McLaren simply had no chance to react.

“Luck was cruel to us today, and even twice! Lando had taken off and the team had done an excellent job. The virtual safety car came a few seconds after his passage, then it ended a few seconds before our stop. We absolutely could do nothing.”

“It was our race with 20 to 25 seconds ahead”

When Norris finally changed his tires, the race had resumed normally. He came out fifth behind Charles Leclerc, Antonelli, Verstappen, and George Russell, losing in a few moments all the advantage built during his excellent first stint.

The strategy then allowed the Briton to recover several positions. Russell made a second stop and Leclerc, who had extended his first stint, eventually went back to the pits nine laps from the finish. Norris thus found himself third and quickly closed up to Verstappen.

But the Madring offering very few overtaking opportunities, the reigning world champion never really managed to attack the Red Bull. For Brown, the final result therefore does not at all reflect Norris’s performance.

“It was really nice to hear Lando’s message on the radio. We just have to move on. I think we were winning this race with 20 to 25 seconds ahead.”

Norris: “We were simply too fast”

Despite the immense frustration, Norris immediately sought to remotivate his team during his cooldown lap. Rather than dwelling on this lost opportunity, the Briton emphasized the level of performance displayed by McLaren throughout the weekend.

“We take it on the chin and move on. We were simply too fast, that’s all. We really had bad luck today. We quite easily deserved this victory, so a big thank you to the whole team.”

This dominance was all the more unexpected as Norris himself did not necessarily think he had a car capable of winning upon arriving in Madrid. However, McLaren had gradually improved its car during the weekend, allowing its driver to snatch pole on Saturday and then dominate the start of the race on Sunday.

“I didn’t think we would have a real chance here. We should have won. Keep it up, guys. I will keep doing my job, keep working hard. We can still win many races this year.”

Brown impressed by Norris’s domination

Zak Brown fully shares his driver’s analysis. In his eyes, Norris was simply in a different category before the neutralization reshuffled the cards.

The American executive notably points out that the Briton did not seem to need to push his McLaren to the limit to build his lead. His pace was excellent, as was the management of his tires, which should have allowed him to control the rest of the Grand Prix.

“He was dominating. He had taken off ahead of everyone while perfectly managing the situation, and tire wear was excellent. He was really in a class of his own. It’s simply unfortunate.”

Norris nevertheless leaves Madrid with a new podium, but this feels more like a meager consolation for McLaren.

“He leaves with a trophy, but it’s the third place one, not the winner’s.”

After two consecutive wins in Hungary and the Netherlands, Norris had all the cards in hand to continue in Madrid. This time, it was neither his pace nor a mistake that deprived him of victory, but a few seconds of bad luck at the precise moment when the virtual safety car decided to turn the Grand Prix around.

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