Lando Norris reflects on McLaren’s cautious approach, suggesting an alternative strategy could have given him a shot at beating Verstappen.
Despite maintaining a solid pace, Lando Norris didn’t have enough of a performance advantage to close the gap and challenge Max Verstappen for the win at Suzuka.
“It’s tough,” the McLaren driver said after the race, where he finished in second place.
“I could clearly see Max throughout the race, but I just couldn’t close the gap after that. I think he had enough of an advantage in clean air to stay in front, and he made no mistakes. He drove well. So… I don’t know, as he said, the race was probably won the day before with the pole position. I guess we all know that the closer you are to the front, the more likely you are to win.”
On paper, McLaren seemed to have the faster car…
“I think our pace might have been slightly better, but not enough to get past the dirty air and into the DRS zone. Overtaking at Suzuka is another story; it’s nearly impossible to pass here. So yeah, I think it was a good race.”
A Too Cautious Strategy?
Who’s to blame? Maybe the strategy? Lando Norris didn’t hold back in questioning his team’s decisions, feeling they were too conservative.
Could McLaren have attempted an earlier undercut? Or even tried an overcut with Norris or Piastri?
“We tried a few things. Maybe we could’ve done a bit more with the strategy. Overcut or undercut – we pitted on the same lap without any real reason. There are things we’ll discuss, but it was still a solid result for the team, decent points for me. Of course, I would have liked more, but sometimes you have to settle for second.”
“We had planned certain things ahead of time, so we knew what to expect. But yeah, looking back, it’s easy to say. I could have gone longer in my stint or pitted earlier, sure, but there’s always the risk of a Safety Car. It’s easy to say ‘you should’ve done this.’”
Still, it’s clear Norris feels there were strategic decisions that could’ve been improved…
“But if I had pitted two or three laps earlier and a Safety Car had come out, we’d have looked foolish. You can’t win them all, and we take it on the chin. There are areas we need to improve.”
“Maybe I should have tried the undercut, I think. But there’s always the Safety Car risk, etc. I think I could have gone longer without losing positions, so it wasn’t out of reach. Yeah, I think we should have tried something else. So, there’s definitely room for discussion. Honestly, the undercut here isn’t easy because the hard tires aren’t great in the first sector. So, I’m not sure it would have worked. Plus, Max always had a little cushion ahead. Even with a good out-lap, I don’t think it would have been enough.”
A Close Moment (and Maybe a Desperate One) With Max Verstappen at the Pit Exit
When was Lando Norris closest to Verstappen during the race? It came right after the pit stops, when the McLaren driver ended up driving through the grass like a lawnmower to get alongside the Red Bull. But overtaking in those conditions was never on the cards.
Norris took it all in good humor!
“The guys did a great job with the pit stop under pressure. That was our only real chance to get closer. Honestly, I wasn’t even trying to battle with Max; I just wanted to mow the grass, as he said! I didn’t even know he was there, actually. So, no complaints. He had the position and was fully entitled to do what he did. Respect.”
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Norris Critiques McLaren’s Strategy After Suzuka Miss Norris Critiques McLaren’s Strategy After Suzuka Miss