Lando Norris unhappy with McLaren F1 strategy blunder: ‘It was the wrong decision’

1. F1

Norris heads to Abu Dhabi only 12 points clear of Max Verstappen after McLaren botched an early pit-stop call

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Lando Norris said he just wanted to go to bed after Max Verstappen cashed in on a calamitous McLaren strategy decision to win the Qatar Grand Prix and take his British rival to a mouth-watering season finale.

Norris was bidding to be crowned world champion in Doha, but he finished only fourth and will head to the 24th and concluding round in Abu Dhabi guarding only a 12-point lead over Verstappen, with team-mate Oscar Piastri, runner-up to the Red Bull driver here, 16 points back.

McLaren were in control of the 57-lap contest, despite Norris dropping behind Verstappen from second to third at the start.

Piastri led, but both he and Norris were told not to pit when a safety car was deployed on the seventh lap after Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly collided. Of the other 18 drivers, only Haas’ Esteban Ocon elected not to take on new tyres with two stops mandatory.

That put Verstappen in the driving seat to keep his dream of winning a fifth straight title alive, and the Dutchman did not waste his opportunity, taking the chequered flag 7.9 seconds clear of Piastri, with Norris behind Carlos Sainz in fourth.

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Asked how he will tackle the three-way title shootout in just seven days, Norris, who will dethrone Verstappen as champion if he finishes at least third, insisted: “It will feel the same as every weekend. I try and beat them. They try and beat me. It is nothing different, but I just want to go to bed.

“We were the ones who took the gamble today, and it was the wrong decision.

“There is nothing I can do about it now. It was not my finest day in terms of driving and putting things together. That is life.

“Everyone has bad weekends. I take it on the chin, we will see what we can do in Abu Dhabi.”

McLaren wrapped up the constructors’ championship in Azerbaijan on September 21 but Verstappen has now won five of the last eight races.

The British team’s strategy fumble comes only a week after both Norris and Piastri were disqualified for running an illegal car in Las Vegas.

“Speechless,” said Piastri over the team radio. “I am lost for words.”

He later added: “Clearly we didn’t get it right today. I feel like I have lost a win. In Las Vegas I lost a P4. For the team it was painful, but for me, this hurts more.

“When I got told that everyone has pitted except for me, Lando and Ocon I knew we were in some trouble. Clearly there are things to review. I don’t have any answers at the moment. It is a tough one to swallow.”

Asked about McLaren’s failure to pit, Verstappen, who had been 104 points off the championship pace, said: “I was like, ‘that is an interesting move’.”

He added: “A race like today shows it is not always straightforward.

“I am excited and happy to go to Abu Dhabi and have a go at it. On pure pace we are not on the same level (as McLaren), but when strategy comes into play, or making the calls at the right time, we might have an opportunity.”

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