Here’s a twist no one expected at the latest Belgian Grand Prix: Lando Norris, starting strong in fourth place, suddenly found himself slipping down to seventh right out of Turn 1. Running wide and ending up in traffic, Norris struggled to regain his position and ultimately finished sixth. This comes on the heels of a similar mishap at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where a poor start from Norris opened the door for teammate Oscar Piastri to steal the win.
Norris didn’t mince words about his performance, describing his mistake as ‘stupid.’ ‘I’ve given away a lot of points over the last three, four races just because of stupid stuff – mistakes and bad starts, Turn 1 now,’ he admitted. ‘I think I just need to reset. The last two, three races I’ve just not clicked as much as I needed to and given up a lot of points, so hopefully I can come back strong.’
Andrea Stella, McLaren’s team principal, revealed that the team is diving deep into Norris’s recent start issues. When asked what McLaren can do to help Norris regain his momentum, Stella pointed out how marginal these situations can be. ‘I think Lando got a little distracted from what was happening on the inside and ran out of track,’ he explained. ‘We work with Lando, like we work with Oscar, to try and see all the opportunities in which we can improve individually, but also collaborate better.’
Interestingly, Stella doesn’t believe Norris could have done much better than sixth, given the circumstances. He noted that overtaking proved remarkably difficult, especially with Max Verstappen making his medium tires last longer than most expected. ‘Once we lost the positions at the start with this low degradation and difficult overtaking, we definitely made our life difficult,’ Stella added. ‘We were a little surprised that we could not overtake, and Verstappen made the medium last in the final stint, like not many other drivers managed to do.’
This season has seen a series of ‘missed opportunities’ for Norris, particularly in the early stages of races. Stella mentioned that the team needs to analyze whether these early-race struggles are just random occurrences or if there’s a specific reason behind them. ‘Like any other athlete or driver, Lando—with the support of the team—will think: What can I do better to make sure we capitalize on the good work we are doing?,’ Stella emphasized.
Despite these setbacks, Norris remains hopeful and determined to turn things around. His performance in the next few races will be crucial, not just for him but for the team’s overall standing as they continue to chase the frontrunners in the championship.
As McLaren gears up to address these start-line woes, all eyes will be on Norris to see if he can bounce back and reclaim his form. The racing world knows he has the talent; now it’s all about execution.
