Norris, sunk after being third due to the Safety car: “I feel like I deserved to win the race”

The frustration and sadness of Lando Norris They are clearly visible while attending to the press. The one from Bristol came out first after what was possibly the best lap of his life in yesterday’s classification. But during the race at the Madring, the first position has been taken from him in the cruelest way: a Virtual Safety Car, which his opponents have been able to take advantage of and he has not. “I feel like I deserved to win the race. And I shouldn’t feel that way because I was unlucky and someone else won because of that.”.

Chance plays its part in the world of motorsport, and today Norris did not have the necessary cards to win. The car of Lance Stroll He stopped on lap 13 due to a brake problem, which caused race management to activate the Virtual Safety Car for only a few moments. These were enough to retire Stroll’s Aston Martin, and for both Kimi Antonelli as Max Verstappen they made their stops. Norris did not have the opportunity to do his thing and thus take advantage of the fact that less time is lost when he stops under virtual pressure.

The English entered just after this was finishedcould not enter earlier since he had left the pit entrance behind when the virtual was activated and, as if that were not enough, his team had problems in a pit stop that lasted seven seconds. Norris only blames his own misfortune and the rule that allows these situations to happen. “Nothing I can do or say, a nasty rule, a shame”he said to the DAZN microphones.

Given how difficult it has been to overtake in this GP, it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which Lando Norris would not have been the winner of the race if luck had not dictated otherwise. Despite this, the McLaren driver was one of the outstanding drivers of the weekend, that doesn’t matter to him, he can only think about the lost opportunity. “I don’t care, I wanted to win the race”.

With this third position, while Antonelli finished first, he remains behind 106 points difference with the Italian in the World Cup. This advantage seems simply insurmountable with 9 races left, making it difficult for Lando Norris to retain the title he won last year.