McLaren rookie Lando Norris says Racing Point rival Lance Stroll left him no room in the build-up to the clash that eliminated both from Formula 1’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Norris and Stroll battled over 14th position but came to blows through Turn 2 two-thirds of the way through the 66-lap race, resulting in both retiring from proceedings.
Stewards investigated the incident and deemed that both drivers had their share of responsibility and opted against issuing a penalty.
But Norris felt his opponent did not leave the required space.
“It was pretty simple to be honest,” Norris said. “I was on the outside into Turn 1, he knew I was there, he defended into Turn 1. After that, I don’t know if he saw me going into Turn 2 but I was still on the inside then for Turn 2 and he just turned in and didn’t leave me enough space basically.
“He cut across the front of my car and he put himself out of the race and me out of the race.
“So I’m a bit annoyed I didn’t get to finish my fifth grand prix, but at the end of the day we weren’t in the points so it didn’t cost us as much as it could have done in another race or anything.”
For Stroll it marked his first failure to finish a race since last year’s German Grand Prix.
“I braked on the inside while he was on the outside and then I had to turn in to make the left hand corner,” said Stroll.
“Unfortunately there is not enough space for two cars and there was not much I could do. I felt contact on my rear and I was sent into the gravel.”
