Lando Norris regrets not pushing earlier in the second stint to boost his chances at passing Max Verstappen through the pit stops in Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix.
Following a conservative start, Norris unleashed a blistering pace on the Intermediates to reel in Max Verstappen and George Russell to pass both in successive laps.
The Briton managed to open up a near eight-second advantage in the lead when McLaren pitted one lap too late under a Safety Car and he dropped back to third spot.
However, Norris almost retrieved those two lost positions when McLaren prolonged his switch to the slicks and he built up the necessary gap to emerge in first place.
Norris was exposed on a wet pit exit, though, and Verstappen breezed past, leading Red Bull boss Christian Horner to claim McLaren could’ve won with an earlier stop.
But Norris has disputed that assertion as he highlighted that the time required to build sufficient heat in the slicks meant that Verstappen was guaranteed to pass him.
“I mean, it takes a lap, two laps to warm up the tyres,” Norris assessed. “So yes, I overcut him and I overcut George, but you need a lap or two to warm up the tyres.
“So you’re always going to have an overcut type of race in that situation because a cold slick is not going to be as good as the Inter at the end of the stint.
“So that didn’t gain me or lose me anything, the little slide and it was completely wet on the slick tyre. So it didn’t lose me or gain me anything.”
However, Norris has admitted that he could have built up the margin needed to bring his rubber up to temperature and retained the lead had he been closer earlier on.
“But we were too far behind Max in the first place,” he conceded. “I probably pushed too late on that Inter tyre in the middle stint.
“It’s why we stayed out because I was so quick at the end of that stint, but I probably just didn’t push early enough.
“I probably could have got past George basically one or two laps before the pit stops and close the gap to Max to give myself a better opportunity of undercutting or overcutting him.
“And we didn’t do that. So that’s more of a hindsight thing and something I wouldn’t change. I think we made the right call there, but that was all.
Norris claimed his sixth podium in nine races this season, but he proclaimed that McLaren can no longer be satisfied with coming second now that he has won a race.
“We should have won today,” he insisted. “I think we’re at a level now where we’re not satisfied with the second, like the target is to win. And we didn’t do that.
“So frustrating, but a tough race and still to end up in second when it could always finish and could be worse is still a good result.”
Discussion about this post