SILVERSTONE (AFP) – A frustrated Lando Norris said his McLaren team “threw away” victory after poor decisions cost them the lead in Sunday’s British Grand Prix.
Seven days after being forced to retire following a collision with Red Bull series leader and three-time champion Max Verstappen at the Austrian Grand Prix, the 24-year-old Briton said he was “fed up” with making excuses.
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton won Sunday’s race at Silverstone for Mercedes ahead of Verstappen and Norris.
The result extended the Dutchman’s lead in the drivers’ title race to 84 points over Norris.
Norris was asked whether McLaren had squandered its chances with poor decisions, in particular a late switch to soft tyres, rather than mediums, for the final sprint to the flag.
“I’ve heard that a lot lately,” Norris said,
“I hate to say it again, but a lot of things were going well and we messed it all up at the last stop. So, one lap too late, but I also think that even if I had done the perfect lap, our decision to put on the softs was the wrong one.
“I think Lewis would have won anyway no matter what, but two calls on our side cost us everything today.
“For me it’s quite disappointing, especially here at Silverstone. I’m fed up with making excuses.”
“We weren’t quick enough here today and when it was dry the Mercedes was much quicker, although we were better in the slippery conditions.
“But there are still many positive things, so we must continue working as a team even though we know we have squandered something that should have been ours.”
Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri finished fourth, also frustrated with the way his race played out after sitting out a lap too long and falling from the race lead to sixth, a setback he was unable to recover from.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez also complained of poor strategy after their teams asked them for intermediate tyres, anticipating a wet track, but they lost positions and were unable to recover.
Leclerc, 14th, described his race as “worse than a nightmare”.
Carlos Sainz, who is leaving Ferrari this year to make way for incoming Hamilton, finished fifth with solid, well-judged performances.
Perez, under pressure to retain his seat, said his race had been “a total disaster” after finishing 17th.
