F1 News: Lando Norris Addresses Major Championship Setback

Saajan Jogia | Oct 22, 2024

Oct 18, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; McLaren Formula 1 Team driver Lando Norris (4) of Team Great Britain walks through the paddock area before practice for the 2024 US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

McLaren driver Lando Norris highlighted how a challenging United States Grand Prix weekend at the Circuit of the Americas turned out to be a "momentum killer" to his championship pursuit. Red Bull's Max Verstappen showcased a strong pace last weekend, which helped him extend his championship lead over Norris by 5 points.

Before the US Grand Prix weekend, the gap between the two contenders stood at 52 points. However, after Verstappen's sprint victory at COTA and his subsequent third-place finish on Sunday, he gained a crucial advantage, bringing his points tally up to 57.

With five races remaining, Lando Norris's chances of overtaking Max Verstappen in the Drivers' Standings have diminished slightly. However, the situation could have been more favorable had it not been for the controversial five-second penalty imposed on the British driver for exceeding track limits while attempting to overtake Verstappen in the race's final stages. When he was asked about the effect of the USGP weekend on his championship chase, Norris told the media:

"I mean, quite a bit. It's a momentum killer.

"But we came in here with our mind open, not expecting to dominate or just win or anything. The fact that Ferrari was so quick showed they're just as competitive.

"Even if I had come around Turn 1 in first, I would never have finished first or second and only could have finished third.

"The one guy I needed to beat was Max, and that's the guy I didn't beat. So, it was an unsuccessful weekend all in all.

"But we gave it a good shot. I tried. It wasn't good enough, and we have work to do, and I've work to do on myself."

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella attributed the team's lack of dominance at COTA to the track's unique characteristics, unlike their performance in recent races. In a potential sigh of relief for Lando Norris, Stella confirmed that the USGP was anticipated to be McLaren's toughest challenge of the last leg of the season, suggesting that the remaining five races could see the Papaya team return to form. He added:

"Compared to Singapore here, there's quite a lot more low-speed braking into low-speed corners, plus wind, and we know that in these conditions, not necessarily our car performs at the best.

"It is not as good as in some medium speed corners, low wind conditions, which we had in Singapore, we had in Zandvoort, and we had in Hungary.

"We know that these three venues that I've just mentioned do suit our car, but here I would have expected this event to be the most difficult of the remaining six events."