McLaren’s Lando Norris expressed that he was “driving like a muppet” when he squandered several places on the opening lap at Formula 1‘s United States Grand Prix.
Norris lined up in pole position in Austin, but he lost that advantage at the outset when Max Verstappen’s late lunge down the inside into Turn 1 compromised his exit.
The Briton being shoved wide also resulted in him surrendering places to both Ferrari drivers alongside Verstappen, placing an irrecoverable dent in his win prospects.
Norris, who would later receive a time penalty when he passed Verstappen outside track limits, was unimpressed that Verstappen escaped a sanction over that clash.
The McLaren driver voiced his bewilderment at how those incidents tend to end up going unpunished on the opening lap when the stewards adopt a lenient approach.
“I think both times, Max went off the track, he had a lot of commitment to keep me behind,” Norris told media including Motorsport Week.
“The thing is with Max, you’ve got to commit. People don’t understand that kind of thing. With Max, you can’t just go half-hearted.
“Turn 1 is a bit harder to say, whether it’s I didn’t commit enough [or not].
“But the fact that he committed so much speed in that he again went off the track, I mean I can’t just dive up the inside of someone, runoff, and then keep the position in normal running.
“But for some reason, it’s completely OK in Lap 1 on Turn 1. It’s a tough one. Yeah. I don’t know. It hurts today.”
Norris has claimed that he will be chasing “more clarity” from the stewards, but he conceded that he should have placed his car better on the run to Turn 1 at the start.
“Look if I defended better in Turn 1 and wasn’t driving like a muppet… I should have led after Turn 1, and we shouldn’t have this conversation in the first place,” he said.
Norris relished battle with Verstappen
Despite his late contest with Verstappen concluding with him losing more ground in the championship, Norris expressed that he relished the duel with the Dutchman.
“I think Max drove very well,” he added. “It’s very hard to do what we’re doing.
“It’s hard when you’re side by side, you’re completely on side of the track, to guess where your braking marker is.
“You’re going quicker than you have before, because you used the battery.
“The tyres are older, there’s different bumps, a lot of dirt. We’re battling and fighting hard.
“So I respect the battle that we had. It was a good one, it was enjoyable. I think it was respectful.
“I think Turn 1, I didn’t do the correct thing, but I felt like what happened at the end of the race was more my side.
“But otherwise, it was a good battle, and I enjoyed it. We just didn’t come out on top because I didn’t do a good enough job.”
READ MORE: Lando Norris criticises ‘rushed’ stewards’ outcome in Max Verstappen F1 US GP clash
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