Norris Describes How He Could Have Overtaken Verstappen In Brazil

Wednesday, 08 November 2023 at 05:00

McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris explained why he could not overtake Max Verstappen and what could have been different at the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Lando Norris started the race in Sao Paulo from the sixth position on the grid, but thanks to a brilliant start, he got into second position by the time the race got red-flagged.

McLaren team principal explained they tried to put Verstappen in an unusual position when they chose fresh soft tires for Norris for the second race start.

And the plan did work for a few laps as Norris could hold on to Verstappen until he got DRS and then actually caught up to him and tried to go for an overtake, which surprised the Dutchman. The McLaren driver told the media:

"On that restart, I used my new tires and Max didn’t so I thought, if I was gonna have one opportunity, it was going to be there and then. So I used all my battery and DRS, and then you do start catching them very quickly."

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Norris explained he did everything right in terms of overtaking, but it just was not enough. However, as he reflected, he said it might have worked had he tried a few laps later.

"I had a good line in Turns 1 and 2, but Max also had a lot of grip. If it was maybe later on in the stint, his line would have been a lot more compromised and a bigger penalty, but because the tires were so fresh and provided a lot of grip, he got a good enough exit that I only got alongside him just before the braking zone for Turn 4."

Nevertheless, a couple of meters separated Norris from overtaking the Flying Dutchman and taking the lead in the race at Intarlagos Circuit.

"I tried. I would have got past him if I could, and I wanted to, but just a couple more meters… it would have been lovely!"

Even though the 23-year-old said after the race, "P2 is as good as we can get nowadays," he recognizes the potential in his car and said the last little thing needs to click, and he might challenge Verstappen more often.

"So it’s good that we’re getting there. I had an attempt, I think that’s one of my first attempts at really trying to raise past him, ever in my career in F1, which is a good thing, but yeah, that last little thing needs to click and then we can do it more often."