In his McLaren, Lando Norris qualified ahead of both Ferraris but during the race Norris was no match for Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. Norris said he knew in advance that he would not be able to cope with the Ferraris during the race.
During the race, Lando Norris had to pit faster than both Ferrari drivers for a tire change. Norris stopped on the eleventh lap, while Carlos Sainz only made his first pit stop on the fifteenth lap and Charles Leclerc only made his only pit stop on lap 26. Leclerc therefore fell in front of Norris, while Sainz in turn managed to pass Lando Norris twice.
Lando Norris therefore had to settle for fifth place, behind both Red Bulls and both Ferraris. According to Norris, there will clearly be no more today.
“A tough race! We tried but didn’t have enough speed today, so it was challenging to try to cover and stay in front of the Ferraris,” said Norris looking back on the race. “To be honest it was as expected. Behind Ferrari, as we have been all year so far.”
“It was difficult at the beginning when you were trying to push to try to follow a faster car or try to stay in front of the Ferraris, which were faster.”
“You demand more from your tires and it is a kind of spiral you end up in. We were fighting a losing battle.”
“Yesterday we performed incredibly in qualifying. I rode some very strong laps and that made it look a little too good for us. Today reality returned.”