Lando Norris “didn’t really” stand a chance against Max Verstappen: The McLaren driver battled for the lead at times, but Red Bull “always had an answer “
Max Verstappen and Lando Norris fought a duel for victory at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. However, as in the sprint on Saturday, the McLaren driver had no chance in the race. According to Norris, there was “not really” a chance to put the world champion under serious pressure
“There are small sections where the tires come back a bit and then you can push a bit again,” said Norris, explaining his multiple attempts to close the gap to Verstappen. “But Max always seemed to have an answer for everything. That’s a shame.”
The McLaren driver had his best chance shortly after the restart when he launched a serious attack on Verstappen. “I gave it a go,” smiled Norris, who put all his eggs in one basket: “I used my fresh tires, the battery and the DRS.”
“But I couldn’t get out of the way until the braking zone before turn four,” explained the Briton, who would have liked to have taken the lead in the early stages of the race. “I wanted to, but a few meters were missing. “
Red Bull has an advantage in tire management
Verstappen used the extra power to fend off the McLaren driver’s attack. He then gradually extended his lead, not wanting to put too much strain on the tires. “The whole race was about tire management,” confirmed the Red Bull driver. “I think we were good with every tire.”
However, Norris was able to match the pace of the world champion, especially on fresh tires. “We saw yesterday in the sprint that we were not far away for the first ten to 15 laps,” said the McLaren driver happily. But the older the tires got, the greater the gap to the front runners
“Lando set comparable lap times,” says Verstappen. “That’s why I had to focus at the start of each stint.” Nevertheless, Red Bull’s tire wear was lower, which proved to be the key to victory. The world champion was able to pull away in the middle stint in particular, meaning that he only had to manage his lead at the end.
The high tire wear and the changing wind direction meant that the drivers had to constantly correct their cars. “So you always have to be focused,” warned the Dutchman, who was never able to rest on his solid lead and always had to keep an eye on Norris.
Norris with a “surprisingly” good start
“You have to give him credit for driving a good race, which was very difficult with the wind conditions and everything else,” the McLaren driver has to admit. He is therefore also satisfied with his own race: “To be honest, it couldn’t have gone much better.”
Unlike in the sprint on Saturday, Noris had a good start, which he describes as a “nice surprise”: “I had a good pace, similar to yesterday, and a much better start, which took me from sixth to second place. “
At the second start after the race was interrupted, Norris said he was “a bit too aggressive”, putting Verstappen under pressure for a short time, but was then unable to keep up with the Red Bull driver’s pace.
Norris sets the fastest race lap
“I tried to take the first chance, but it didn’t work,” said Norris, who was pleased to have left the rest of the field so far behind, even if it made the race “very boring” at times.
McLaren delayed the last stop for a while to give Norris a small advantage at the end thanks to the fresher tires. Although the Briton still managed to set the fastest race lap, he was unable to pose any further threat to Verstappen.
“I’m very happy with second place,” said Norris, who is now only three points behind Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) in fifth place in the overall standings. “That’s the best that’s possible at the moment. “
