Norris in bizarre spat with F1 over cooldown room act<\/a><\/p>\nKimi Antonelli claims Spanish Grand Prix | 01:32<\/p>\n
If he continues at that rate, he\u2019ll be 115 points up after Singapore, where he would need to be 125 points to seal the deal.<\/p>\n
He would need a lead of only 100 points after the subsequent round in Austin to get it done.<\/p>\n
Put another way, he needs to outscore Russell by only 19 points over the next three races to win the title.<\/p>\n
Pencil in the date. It could be a big one.<\/p>\n
NORRIS TAKES IT ON THE CHIN \u2014 BUT WAS THERE ANY WAY TO WIN?<\/p>\n
Antonelli was always likely to extend his title lead this weekend, just not by quite so much.<\/p>\n
While he had the measure of Russell all weekend, Norris emerged late as the quickest driver at the Madring.<\/p>\n
That sensational pole lap, it turned out, was just the beginning. Despite the dearth of high-fuel running on Friday owing to a gearbox problem, Norris was the fastest driver in the race.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday we didn\u2019t deserve the win; Lando deserved to win today,\u201d Antonelli said afterwards.<\/p>\n
Ironically it was Norris\u2019s speed that cost him.<\/p>\n
With remarkable accuracy, Lance Stroll\u2019s stoppage came at the worst possible time. The Canadian\u2019s Aston Martin ran out of puff before it was fully off the circuit, necessitating a virtual safety car for marshals to enter the run-off zone <\/p>\n
The VSC was called as Norris put his foot down exiting the final corner, after he\u2019d already passed pit entry.<\/p>\n
Had he been slower in the first stint, he might have had the crucial few seconds he needed to capitalise.<\/p>\n
Lando refuses to ditch the Coca-Cola! | 00:17<\/p>\n
But it came just in time for Antonelli and his well-drilled Mercedes team.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe process was great today,\u201d Toto Wolff told Sky Sports. \u201cThe strategy group had it on their mind, obviously, then someone said, \u2018That\u2019s not going to clear quickly\u2019 with the Aston Martin in [the gap in] the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen it was strategy to Bono [race engineer Peter Bonnington], Bono double-checked, Bono to Kimi. We\u2019re talking about three seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Antonelli pitted and took the net lead of the race.<\/p>\n
The VSC lasted almost an entire lap \u2014 but only almost.<\/p>\n
As Norris returned to pit entry, the VSC ended, and the outcome of his race appeared to depend on what happened next.<\/p>\n
McLaren committed to pitting him anyway. It cost him around 10s to those who pitted during the caution. He then had a slow 7s stop, rubbing salt into the wound.<\/p>\n
Was there another way?<\/p>\n
The team figured it was better to take the hit now then to bleed lap time for the rest of what was likely to be a one-stop race.<\/p>\n
In hindsight it was the right call. As Charles Leclerc learned, there were no other incidents forthcoming in a staid and cautious grand prix that would have swung the pendulum of luck back towards Norris.<\/p>\n
No matter what happened, the moment that VSC came out, Norris was finishing the race third.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe deserved to win quite easily,\u201d Norris said on the cool-down lap.<\/p>\n
Later he added: \u201cThere was nothing I could do \u2026 just luck as not on our side.<\/p>\n
\u201cA tough race, one that just got away from us. I felt like we deserved it today, but that\u2019s racing sometimes. We\u2019ll take it on the chin and try again next time.\u201d<\/p>\n
DOES THE VSC RULE NEED TO CHANGE?<\/p>\n
Norris\u2019s supremacy in the race despite the result was unquestioned, with both Antonelli and Verstappen admitting the Briton deserved the win.<\/p>\n
McLaren CEO Zak Brown was even more emphatic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that was our race by \u2014 I don\u2019t know, pick a number \u2014 20s, 25s,\u201d he told Sky Sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was dominant. He was gone, managing it great. Tyre wear was great. He was in a league of his own.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Norris was as magnanimous as he could have been expected to be \u2014 his wrath was incurred mostly by someone in the cool-down room apparently reprimanding him for drinking a can of Coke \u2014 he did argue later that the concept of the virtual safety car was inherently unfair and ought to be addressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was the only one on the whole grid that doesn\u2019t get a pit stop [under VSC],\u201d he told Sky Sports. \u201cI lost 20s on the whole grid. This is out of my control. It\u2019s out of their control.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a rule that shouldn\u2019t define a race. A race should be won by the guy who put in the best performance, who maybe takes a risk by going long in a stint and maybe you get a safety car later on and things can help because you know that\u2019s one of the big factors, but for everyone to get a VSC pit stop and for me to get nothing, it\u2019s just unfair.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s happened in the past. Others have won from it. I\u2019ve probably won from it in the past. It\u2019s just I don\u2019t think many people have lost a race win over it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating. I don\u2019t feel like it\u2019s the way you should lose.<\/p>\n
“Tell me if you’re going to fix it!” | 00:48<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve spoken about it in the past in the drivers briefing saying they should leave it out for at least a lap so it\u2019s equal for everyone. Today I was the only one who lost out, and I lost about 20s of race time, and that\u2019s not how it should be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Norris really was the only driver who couldn\u2019t pit during the VSC, with the option available to every other driver \u2014 and obviously that made the difference to the outcome.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s debatable, however, whether the VSC regulation needs to be modified.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s luck in the timing of every sort of safety intervention, even if a conventional safety car and red flags neutralise the race in the same way for everyone.<\/p>\n
Norris noted that some strategies specifically hope for a late safety car to work \u2014 like Leclerc\u2019s long stint in this race \u2014 and that that\u2019s fair enough.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s far from unusual for a safety car to arrive in the middle of a pit window and shake up delicately poised races.<\/p>\n
Norris benefited from one such safety car in Miami in 2024, winning his first race as a result.<\/p>\n
He also lost out later that year in Brazil, when a red flag was thrown shortly after he pitted, handing Verstappen a race-winning advantage.<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t fair, but these rules aren\u2019t designed to be fair in the first instance. They\u2019re designed for safety purposes \u2014 and, in the case of the VSC, it\u2019s designed to be as minimally intrusive as possible.<\/p>\n
IS THIS THE CIRCUIT F1 WANTS IN SPAIN FOR THE NEXT DECADE?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s worth adding here that Norris\u2019s overwhelming pace advantage could have won him the race anyway had this grand prix have taken place at a different circuit \u2014 almost any other circuit in fact.<\/p>\n
Despite the Madring being designed with a mostly clean sheet of paper, its first grand prix was a dire, dour spectacle almost completely devoid of overtaking.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how someone looks at this design and goes, \u2018mint\u2019,\u201d Norris said.<\/p>\n
It was clear from the track map it would be difficult. Not only is it a street track bordered by walls, which naturally deter risk, but the combination of corners, leading into each other as they do, plus the curved braking zones, meant sizing up a move even with a massive pace advantage was all but impossible.<\/p>\n
Remarkably it made the former host of the Spanish Grand Prix, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, look like a thrilling circuit \u2014 and that track has long been dismissed for generating predictable racing.<\/p>\n
The Madring is certainly challenging to drive over a lap \u2014 the drivers were pretty much unanimous about this being a high-commitment, high-risk circuit through practice and after qualifying \u2014 but those same characteristics meant the Sunday spectacle lacked.<\/p>\n
There\u2019ll be plenty of head-scratching taking place in Madrid and at F1 headquarters thinking forward to the next nine seasons of this circuit.<\/p>\n
Fortunately organisers have sounded receptive to driver feedback, and though the potential for change to the south end of the circuit is limited by the fact it comprises mostly public roads, the faster north end is purpose-built and can be changed, albeit at a price.<\/p>\n
Verstappen summed up the problems he\u2019d address first in a comprehensive breakdown after qualifying.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey need to learn that it should never be that you have to steer [when braking], that you have to combine under braking, because it doesn\u2019t allow any kind of overtaking,\u201d he said. \u201cFor sure, in terms of track design, I think it can be better.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think also input from drivers in the future on track design can also help a lot. I know they will always come back to you and say, \u2018Yeah, but the space,\u2019 but that\u2019s BS. There\u2019s always a way to find an overtaking opportunity around a track.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want to have better racing, overtaking, I think there can be a few corners that can be changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
All that said, there\u2019s also reason to think next year\u2019s race can be better with even minimal changes.<\/p>\n
The timing of the VSC, allowing everyone but Norris to pit, killed some of the strategy elements that would have made the afternoon far more interesting and tense. <\/p>\n
Instead the 10 drivers who started on medium or softs \u2014 unusually all three tyre compounds appeared on the grid \u2014 got an easy pass at exactly the moment they were beginning to consider pitting anyway.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also a psychological factor.<\/p>\n
This feels a lot like the reviews of the first race in Baku, when expectations of chaos led directly to a dull race because teams and drivers were playing it safe.<\/p>\n
The following year\u2019s race was a thriller, and most of the following grands prix in Azerbaijan have been exciting.<\/p>\n
PIASTRI WITH WORK TO DO<\/p>\n
Oscar Piastri was on the back foot after a disappointing qualifying, but his race never really got going.<\/p>\n
The Australian got squeezed against the pit wall by George Russell off the line, picking up front wing damage that hampered him for the entire race after dropping three places.<\/p>\n
The timing of the VSC also didn\u2019t work for him, having started on the hard tyre. He needed to run deep to make it work, but with no subsequent interruptions, there was nothing for him to gain.<\/p>\n
Piastri’s race ruined by opening clash | 00:32<\/p>\n
The alternative would have been to stop twice, as George Russell did, though the Mercedes strategy didn\u2019t really deliver anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty painful, obviously, from lap 1,\u201d he said. \u201cNot much I really could\u2019ve done from there.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just a difficult afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday I just tried to learn as much as I could to get more out of the car and the way I drive it. Hopefully we\u2019ve learned a few things for the rest of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an opportune time to have learned some lessons, with Azerbaijan up next.<\/p>\n
While Piastri stormed to a famous victory in Baku in 2024, last year was disastrous, with Piastri crashing out of qualifying and then crashing out of the first lap of the race.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s never a bad time to bounce back, but it would be particularly meaningful there.<\/p>\n
WHERE DOES ANTONELLI GO FROM HERE?<\/p>\n
The fact this imperfect Sunday afternoon resulted in another Antonelli victory just emphasises how rich a vein of form the Italian is in at the moment.<\/p>\n
Great things tend to happen to the greats, and that certainly seems to be the case for the 20-year-old as he marches to the championship.<\/p>\n
With an 81-point lead, he has one hand on the title trophy. Even though his most recent victory was fortunate, the building blocks contributing to that lead are anything but.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s really only one question left for him to answer.<\/p>\n
As the championship comes into view, even with the benefit of such a big buffer, the pressure will inevitably build.<\/p>\n
Already he\u2019s having to bat away the inevitable questions about whether he\u2019s beginning to count down the days \u2014 which only makes it harder for him to stick to his job of taking it one race at a time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s exactly what I don\u2019t want to do,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to keep pushing race by race, keep delivering, keep enjoying all the way and then trying to do my best every race, and then we\u2019ll see where we end up at the end of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
But team boss Wolff \u2014 who started the year expressing extreme caution about Antonelli\u2019s ability to take the fight to the more experienced Russell \u2014 no longer sees the risk in his young prot\u00e9g\u00e9.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe hasn\u2019t got that [sense of pressure], interestingly,\u201d he told Sky Sports. \u201cIt\u2019s just like \u2018get in the car, just drive\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel almost his youth helps him a lot there, because he\u2019s 20. He could probably stay in this sport 20 years with so many opportunities. In a way he\u2019s so above all our expectations and his own. He\u2019s just going with the flow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s also a genetic factor. You\u2019re born cool as a cucumber or you\u2019re not. You can see this in junior formulae or karting, taking pressure easier. But he\u2019s taking this to just another level.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re talking about Formula 1. You can see junior drivers crumbling in F2 or wherever, but he\u2019s just driving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sunday, 25 October. Pencil in that date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pencil Sunday, 25 October into your diary. It\u2019s the day of the United States Grand Prix in Austin.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":891094,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,85],"class_list":["post-891093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=891093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/891094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=891093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=891093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=891093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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