The Brazilian Grand Prix may have dealt a blow to Lando Norris's hopes of crowning at the end of the season. While he had extremely favorable circumstances when he appeared on the starting grid of the Grand Prix contested on the Interlagos track, in Sao Paolo, the British driver simultaneously saw his race turn into a mess, while assisting, helplessly, at the resurrection of that of his rival Max Verstappen, who started seventeenth. The wet track and incessantly changing conditions were just some of the factors in which Norris was unable to maintain control of his race, which began with a cacophony in the start procedure, which he not respected to the letter and which is the subject of an official investigation by the sports commissioners after the race.
Here are the words of the Briton, obviously extremely disappointed, at the finish when he showed up in the pen now 62 points behind Verstappen in the drivers' world championship.
See also: Results of the 2024 F1 Brazilian Grand Prix
What happened with the aborted departure?
I'm not sure, I need to go see the team.
Tell us about the main departure?
We had some slippage with the wheels; the left side seemed a little better than the right side…
The pit stop happened when the Virtual Safety Car intervened and didn't seem to go in your favor, do you regret that?
It was a good time to stop. Yes, it was the right thing to do. So I have no regrets, but I was unlucky. It's a stupid rule that no one agrees with, but you'll always agree with it when it benefits you, you know. All the drivers said they disagreed with this rule and wanted it changed. It's unfortunate, but it's the rule. You win some, you lose some, and it benefited them today [à Red Bull]. So, congratulations to them.
Is it difficult to digest this result for the championship?
It's quite easy. I did everything I could today. That's all. Max won the race. Good for him, but it doesn't change anything for me.
Was there too much downforce today on the McLaren?
No, the wing helped us quite a bit today, but we weren't fast enough. Max was easily faster than us and I think if he had started from the front he probably would have lapped us. The rhythm was good, I think it was similar to George's [Russell]but the Red Bull was very fast today.
You experienced rollercoaster emotions this weekend…
Yes, we can say that it was a rollercoaster weekend, that's for sure. There's not much more I can do.
In reality, I probably finished third, so that’s tough. Max probably would have passed anyway and probably would have beaten us, but, yeah, we were unlucky. Nothing more. I made a few mistakes, which I admit, and which cost me a few places in the end, but that's it…
