Ex-Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok has claimed that McLaren’s deficit in the opening five races will be the reason that Lando Norris‘ title bid comes up short in 2024.
Norris’ slim championship chances were all but ended in Brazil last time around as he ended up in sixth place as Max Verstappen, who started 17th, took the race win.
But while a hectic encounter at a wet Interlagos will be viewed as the stage Verstappen ensured he would prevail, Chandhok is adamant that isn’t where it was settled.
Instead, Chandhok has pointed to the huge gap that the Dutchman was able to build up over his closest rivals when Red Bull was dominant during the nascent events.
Verstappen had cantered to four victories in five races heading into a Miami Grand Prix which transpired to be a turning point as McLaren came out on top with Norris.
However, it wasn’t until the Spanish Grand Prix four rounds later that Norris emerged as Verstappen’s main threat amid McLaren‘s sluggish beginning to the campaign.
The Briton had managed to close the margin to 44 points going into the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, but Verstappen’s memorable triumph has boosted the lead to 62 points.
“I think realistically, they could be proud of the season he’s put together,” Chandhok told the Sky F1 podcast.
“The championship battle wasn’t lost on Sunday in Brazil, it was lost in the first five races.
“If you rewind the clock to the opening five races of the season, that’s where Verstappen really got this big advantage, very reminiscent of what we’ve seen from Jenson Button back in 2009.
“I think on the whole they can be pleased with the season they’ve had. They can be pleased with the points they scored.
“But when you start 52 points behind coming into Miami, that’s where the championship was lost, not on not on Sunday in Brazil.”
McLaren ‘didn’t have the pace’ in Brazil
Chandhok concurred with Norris’ post-race assessment that McLaren wouldn’t have had the pace to thwart Verstappen in Brazil even without the errors he committed.
“I don’t think they [McLaren] could put that down to bad luck, honestly, on the Sunday [in Brazil],” he added.
“Okay the red flag, but if he had the same pace as Verstappen, he would have passed the Alpines and passed George [Russell].
“And frankly, if he had the same pace as Verstappen, he would have passed George in the first stint after losing the start.
“But we saw him go off the road, I think two or three different times. At the end, they didn’t have the pace to fight against his championship rival.”
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