MADRID (AP) — There was just nothing Lando Norris could do to prevent victory at the Spanish Grand Prix from slipping away from him.
The virtual safety car was deployed at the worst possible time, and Norris knew right away he wouldn't stay in the lead for much longer.
“It’s not like we did anything that made us lose it. We were just insanely unlucky today. I was the only one on the whole grid that didn’t get the chance to do the pit stop. That’s just unfortunate,” Norris said Sunday after finishing third behind Max Verstappen and winner Kimi Antonelli at the new Madring track in F1's return to Madrid after 45 years.
Norris started on pole position and was leading the race when the virtual safety car was deployed for an incident with Lance Stroll's Aston Martin. Norris had just passed the pit entrance when it came out, though, so he couldn’t come in to change tires while several of the cars behind him pitted. The safety car allows cars to lose less time while pitting because of the reduced speeds.
Norris had to go around and pit on the next lap, when the virtual safety car had already ended and cars were already back up to speed.
He returned to the track back in fifth position, unable to fight for the victory.
“It just hurts more, the fact that I lose a win," he said. "You know, there’s literally nothing I could do as a driver today to do a better job. Pole, led the race, and to lose it for nothing in my control is, I don’t think, how a race should be won.”
Antonelli admitted Norris deserved the victory.
“If I have to be realistic and honest, you know, today we didn’t deserve to win,” he said. “Lando deserved to win today.”
Norris wasn't certain whether there should be a change in regulations regarding the safety cars to avoid similar incidents. He said luck usually evens out over time in those situations.
Verstappen went along with Norris on the subject, but said it's something that will probably be discussed in the near future.
“I’ve also won races because of it, I’ve lost races because of it. And yes, it is extremely painful today for Lando, in that case, to lose a win,” Verstappen said. “But unfortunately, I think a lot of drivers have had it that, yeah, you win some, you lose some. Can it be better? Probably yes, in the future. But we’ll probably talk about it in the next briefing and see if there is anything that can be done.”
McLaren defended the decision to pit Norris after the virtual safety car ended. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said “there was no option to retain the lead.”
“Starting from pole position, leading the race and having incredible pace … this would’ve been a race won by many seconds, and we ended up in third position,” he said. "The reality is that in racing, there are elements that you can control and some that you cannot control. The timing of the virtual safety car was a couple of seconds too late, Lando had already passed the pit entry, and then he was a few seconds too early because then it was ending once he came in to pit.”
Charles Leclerc stayed out and took the lead when the virtual safety car was deployed but finished fourth after having to come in late for his mandatory stop.
