Lando Norris repeated his criticism of Formula 1’s red flag tyre change rules after a poor result in the Brazilian Grand Prix effectively ended his chance to win the championship.
The McLaren driver ran second in the early stages of the race, then pitted as the conditions worsened. Soon afterwards the Safety Car was deployed, then the race was red-flagged as Franco Colapinto crashed heavily.Championship leader Max Verstappen had not pitted by that stage, nor had either of the Alpine drivers. The red flag meant they were able to replace their worn tyres with fresh, without the disadvantage of pitting.
Norris said that was what made the difference in his race today. “You can change your tyres under the red flag, it’s what the others did, so just unlucky and unfortunate,” he told the official F1 channel. “Sometimes it’s just goes your way.”
The McLaren driver urged his team to consider pitting him before he changed tyres, hoping to gain an advantage on race leader George Russell ahead of him. He insisted the team’s tactics were correct.
“So there’s nothing we did wrong,” he said. “I don’t care what people say, staying out was not the right thing to do.
“It shouldn’t have been red-flagged, but obviously there was the crash in the end which caused the red. So it’s just life, sometimes. You take a gamble, it’s paid off for them. It’s not talent, it’s just luck. Just a bit unlucky.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Verstappen went on to win the race ahead of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. Norris, who took the restart after the red flag in fourth place, fell to finish sixth behind Russell and Charles Leclerc.
“I still made a couple of mistakes,” he admitted. “In the end I had cars on my left, on my right. I locked the rears, I went off, I lost two positions. So a little bit unfortunate there, just my own fault.
“So not a perfect race for me. But I think no matter what, fourth was the best anyone could do today of the people who boxed and didn’t get lucky. But otherwise, we’ll just keep our heads down.”
The McLaren driver is under investigation for a potential infringement at the start of the race where he led the field away on a second formation lap when the start was aborted, without having received a signal to do so.
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories - and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2024 Brazilian Grand Prix
- “I didn’t really want to come back” – Hamilton explains cryptic Brazil radio message
- Ocon’s role in Gasly’s Q2 exit was almost another ‘flare-up’ at Alpine – Oakes
- Interlagos must improve “very bad” new track surface for 2025, say F1 drivers
- “That’s how we silence them”: Verstappen’s stunning Brazil win from start to finish
- Verstappen now has as many wins as F1’s first six world champions combined
Ideals (@ideals)
3rd November 2024, 19:13
Maybe once he goes back and sees the difference in car control between him and the guy winning from P17 throughout that race, he’ll come to a different conclusion.
Lad lost a championship today, so he’s allowed to be bitter and petty for a little while longer.
MichaelN
3rd November 2024, 19:22
He didn’t really, he was already on something like a 12 point per race deficit going into this race. The fact that Verstappen kept his lead from the first ten races in the subsequent ten is definitely to a large degree on McLaren, but one race in the last weeks of the season isn’t that decisive on its own.
Ideals (@ideals)
3rd November 2024, 19:25
I said he lost a championship today, not that he lost the championship in this single race alone.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
4th November 2024, 1:34
@ideals
Repeating it really doesn’t make it any clearer. We already have definitions/reasons for losing the championship that include, ‘mathematical impossibility’, ‘performance over the season’, ‘teams reluctance to use team orders’ etc.
Adding a new variant that suggests he lost it on this race day but not in this race just seems a little unnecessary.
That said, I would agree that any slim hopes I held for a close fight to the end have now evaporated.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
4th November 2024, 18:42
Yes, that’s the best way to say it, and after all, the best driver won.
I think verstappen has been the best driver in all 4 championships he won: here he clearly made a lot less mistakes than norris, in 2021 he made less mistakes and was on top form more often than hamilton, in 2022 for the part where the cars were up there he made less mistakes than leclerc, and in 2023 there was no comparison car-wise, but his consistency was incredible, other drivers had that advantage like schumacher, hamilton and so on but were never able to do something like that.
PeteB (@peteb)
3rd November 2024, 21:27
It’s why a title battle is always fascinating – it’s easy driving around in a car that is the 3rd or 4th fastest. You can stay relaxed, have fun, be a nice guy… Once you’re under the enormous pressure of a title battle, you start making mistakes and the real you comes out.
Unfortunately it just confirms what I think we already knew – Lando is a very good driver but sadly, “very good” isn’t good enough to beat the best drivers in the world to a Championship win.
drmouse (@drmouse)
3rd November 2024, 23:07
Having watched the interview, I believe this article broadly misrepresents and cherry Lucia what he actually said. I would expect such “reporting” from tabloids and certain other low quality racing news outlets, but expected better from this site.
He was not fuming, and his connects pointed out that there was a large helping if luck involved in the pit stop calls, which is true. He didn’t suggest that there was no talent involved in Max’s win, and praised Max’s performance. He came across as disappointed and upset, not angry, that he and his team made the wrong call.
Please note that I am fairly neutral on Norris, and have little sympathy for him after he was calling to “box to overtake”. But I strongly dislike the selective quoting used to dramatise the situation here.
MacLeod (@macleod)
4th November 2024, 7:54
I have to agree with you on that Norris was dissapointed during that interview.
Mayrton
4th November 2024, 7:08
Despite him having received three gifts from FIA this the weekend. VSC in Sprint, Red Flag in Quali, incredible lenience towards a start procedure infringement. I just know we will hear nothing about the latter anymore. Just imagine it having been Max.. this site would post articles for days. The bias is there, visible and very real.
slowmo (@slowmo)
4th November 2024, 9:24
Maybe there isn’t any outrage because what Norris did, had zero impact on the result of the race. I note the stewards also made it clear that their lenient verdict would not be reserved for any other drivers in future as they only seem to change the rules on the fly to suit Max.
Mayrton
5th November 2024, 7:31
It had a massive impact on the safety of track personnel. Are we saying they don’t matter? They just matter 5.000? What a massive mistake once again by the organisers prioritising revenue over safety. We know very well had that been Max he would have received a stop & go or minimum 10sec. N
SteveP
4th November 2024, 18:42
As noted elsewhere, Max was already eliminated by Leclerc posting a better time two seconds after the marshals yellow flagged the Stroll crash. The track marshal do not post red flags, that’s the RD, and even if the German RD had pushed that button as soon as he saw the video images of what the marshal had highlighted with a yellow Max would still have been in the drop zone with insufficient Q2 time remaining to start another attempt.
RBR sent him out too late. (Any time after Stroll being too late in anyone’s book.)
From SÃO PAULO GRAND PRIX document #84 – readily available if you look. Posted on the site @ 23:46 CET (approximately seven and a bit hours before your comment)
That’s just Lando’s document, but you’ve probably now been informed of the one you were primarily complaining about.
If I were you, I’d consult an eye specialist, you’re seeing things that aren’t there.
Round here, for example, there’s a nice list of Brits who have thoughts about Lando’s performance that are politely expressed by the phrase “severely under par” or “pretty bad” (other phrases I’ve avoided as they would likely cause a “moderation” flag)
I said some weeks ago that if Max can drive properly (without the divebomb stuff) and win this WDC then he has earned it. Yesterday was divebomb free, top class driving.
SteveP
4th November 2024, 21:49
How so?
Let’s deal with your complaints one by one:
It affects everyone the same and lasts until the notification lights go out, drivers must maintain the delta for the duration, Max admits he didn’t. Like pit lane speed, it’s an absolute, no grey area and a known penalty.
As noted elsewhere, Max was already eliminated by Leclerc posting a better time two seconds after the marshals yellow flagged the Stroll crash. The track marshal do not post red flags, that’s the RD, and even if the German RD had pushed that button as soon as he saw the video images of what the marshal had highlighted with a yellow Max would still have been in the drop zone with insufficient Q2 time remaining to start another attempt.
RBR sent him out too late. (Any time after Stroll being too late in anyone’s book.)
From SÃO PAULO GRAND PRIX document #84 – readily available if you look. Posted on the site @ 23:46 CET (approximately seven and a bit hours before your comment)
That’s just Lando’s document, but I think I’ve now informed of the one you were primarily complaining about.
Finally – Lando did not drive well in the race, Max did – not brilliantly, but when your opponent is sub par it’s easier to shine.
There was luck on Max’s side, but I don’t think it had as much impact as Lando’s mistakes.
Mayrton
5th November 2024, 7:17
Come on. We know very well what went on. FIA massively favouring Lando and trying to hold back Max. Don’t insult anyone’s intelligence here. The VSC was about timing, so was the red flag. Not penalising the start infringement (which is a massive safety breach) with a time penalty (a drive through or 10 sec penalty is appropriate) is blatantly ridiculous and again massively showing FIA’s hand. They just can’t help themselves rigging championships to keep it going down to the wire at the last race.
An I agree, Max was not brilliant. He didn’t make any mistakes, overtook numerous cars, planted 17 fastest laps. Bit of an average outing for him. I would also say the red flag handed him everything. He is such a spoiled brat.
SteveP
5th November 2024, 20:48
I’m beginning to see – I’m on earth in the real world, could you give me a few clues about which alternate reality you’re calling in from?
Sort of missing you over in the Sainz / Monza 2023 thread. Did ask where you’d got to.
Wondering whether Lando should have got that level of penalty.
JOA20
3rd November 2024, 19:13
I don’t feel like beating on a dead horse, but you need to earn your own luck sometimes, Lando. If you hadn’t bottled the start, with free air you could’ve been able to build enough of a gap to get a free stop when the SC came out and still be in front.
I agree that the red flag free tire change rule should be reworked, but how? My idea would be to force those who change tires to do another pit stop within 10 laps or so, or maybe a drive-through?
Red Andy (@red-andy)
3rd November 2024, 19:16
Easiest solution would be that you can’t work on your car in the fast lane of the pits; if you want to work on the car you must be taken to your pit apron/garage. At the restart you would then only be allowed to leave the pits once the fast lane was clear.
JOA20
3rd November 2024, 19:23
That sounds like a good idea, that way whoever decides to change tires would restart from the back of the grid and those who already did a pit stop would not lose their advantage. Unless it’s a situation where a tire change is mandatory, only then it would be allowed to change tires in the fast lane?
Red Andy (@red-andy)
3rd November 2024, 19:27
Yes, I suppose you could grant race control dispensation to permit a “free” tyre change in cases where there is debris on track or whatever.
Ideals (@ideals)
3rd November 2024, 19:30
Except now if a red flag is thrown in the middle of a pit stop anyone that was unlucky enough to get the red flag right before the pit stop is convicted to the back of the grid through no fault of their own, while everyone that made their stop on the lap before the red flag gets a huge jump ahead of everyone else. So how is that more fair?
The rule has been complained about a lot, but it’s not been changed because any alternative just makes it unfair in the other direction. You simply can’t win either way. If you don’t allow the cars to change tires, the red flag becomes unfair for the people that didn’t pit instead. It is what it is.
JOA20
3rd November 2024, 19:47
@Ideals, wouldn’t it be enough to say that if a car enters the pitlane before the red flag is declared, the driver doesn’t get penalised? Those who decided not to wait for a red flag wouldn’t risk losing positions through no fault of their own, and those who settled for waiting: tough luck!
It’s pretty clear that today Alpine and Verstappen were waiting for a red flag to get a free stop.
Ideals (@ideals)
3rd November 2024, 19:55
Again, you’re just going to”tough luck” to the other half of the grid now. Now it was “tough luck” for the others. The only difference in changing the rules is that nobody gets fresh tires at the restart compared to everybody up and down the grid getting fresh tires for the restart.
Nothing effectively changes with the proposed change, your fave will still get unlucky sometimes and lucky other times.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
3rd November 2024, 19:55
I’m equally skeptical about finding a rule for tyre changes under red flags that is both safety conscious and ‘fair’ for all competitors. Denying tyre changes under red flags would have safety issues and could be equally unfair on those who haven’t pitted as the current rule is on those who have.
Best I can come up with is that you are permitted to change tyres under red flag, but you will get a notional time added to your placement at the time the red flag was flown to work out your new position when the race restarts. The notional time would be the approximate time loss for a pit stop with a change of tyres, and let’s be conservative and say a tyre change takes 5 seconds, since there are risks associated with tyre changes under race conditions that wouldn’t apply if tyres are changed under red flag.
So you can choose to not change tyres and maintain track position, or change tyres and be moved back 25 seconds or so, depending on the pit lane time loss for that specific track. Teams have time to inspect their tyres during the red flag, so should be able to weigh up the risks of any tyre damage or wear limitations.
Paul
3rd November 2024, 19:55
You have to draw a line on pit stops somewhere, if you say changing under a Red Flag is unfair, how much different is it really to any other race reset situation.
Should pit stops be banned under all Safety Car, Red Flag and VSC conditions because they all give a degree of an unfair advantage to somebody? What about safety cars themselves that remove the gaps between drivers, is that really fair, should we completely remove safety cars and replace with only VSC allowed.
End of the day, somebody benefits and somebody loses under any red flag/safety car/VSC condition, its part of the sport, you have to take the good with the bad.
F1statsfan (@f1statsfan)
3rd November 2024, 19:15
What an unbelievable thing to say by Norris – he was driving horrible making too many mistakes himself. He himself was pushing his team to pit a few laps before he pitted.
Don’t blame the rules – know the rules – like the difference between an extra formation lap and an aborted start.
It has little to nothing to do with luck – it was a pure masterclass of Max that have him this result despite the bad luck.
Norris easily could have been out in Q1 and Q2 but wasn’t due to luck. Max was out due to bad luck and the very questionable in red flag following Stroll’s crash.
Mr B
3rd November 2024, 19:28
What Norris also fails to mention is that on two separate occasions this weekend his team mate has been forced to had his position over to benefit Norris.
Riccard
3rd November 2024, 21:50
It’s a very believable thing for a person to say when they’re down in the dumps.
He’s wrong, but many people say things that are wrong when they’re annoyed.
knightameer (@knightameer)
3rd November 2024, 19:20
Sore loser vibes from LandoWDCover Norris. He should have talked about getting lucky in qualifying when he conveniently got to complete his lap because of the late red flag. He should have been better during all million restarts during the race where every time he fumbled his chances.
MarkWebber (@markwebber)
3rd November 2024, 19:20
Had he not lost his position to Russell, the red flag would have been irrelevant to his race
Dusty
3rd November 2024, 19:20
Like wise rain master Lance likes to say: do your talking on the track.
Anna
3rd November 2024, 19:21
Did someone remind this boy of todays qualis when he got to pole position because his main rivals were stopped by red flags?
MichaelN
3rd November 2024, 19:25
He’s not entirely wrong. There were very few position changes this race. The red flag decided much of the result. Doesn’t take away from the guys who benefited, but it’s not like they were by sheer coincidence all being special. The red flag had a lot to do with it.
Still, Norris did himself no favours by losing the start again, and getting caught up in a strategic squabble with Russell.
Moi
3rd November 2024, 19:41
Except for that guy that overtook 10 cars or so on track? In the wet?
Patrick (@paeschli)
3rd November 2024, 19:57
Verstappen overtook something like 14 cars on track.
Riccard
3rd November 2024, 21:54
“Very few position changes” – what race were you watching?
Even ignoring Verstappen, there were changes all the time. Norris himself was overtaken by Russell (twice) and Leclerc. The first Russell overtake is the reason he got caught in the stops. The Russell+Leclerc overtake is the reason he couldn’t go after Gasly.
GechiChan (@gechichan)
4th November 2024, 6:18
I like the fact that Red Flag decided a big part of the result. Sure, most people here hate this result because it was Max who won, but if Ocon and Gasly would have finished 1-2, then everyone would be super excited with the race strategy from Alpine… and surely there’d be much less talk of the tyre changing rule
Pironi the Provocateur (@pironitheprovocateur)
3rd November 2024, 19:30
Extremely click-baity and out-of-context title. One has to admit that there was visible difference between Verstapoen’s and Norris’s handling of the race but Max got extremely lucky – one could almost say a Williams driver basically helped him to yet another title. Still, Lando needs to focus on his starts, it’s not improving.
Justin Fernando
3rd November 2024, 20:23
It’s not really a click bait since he did mean it. The title is exactly what he means to say based on the full context. The things is, Lando also got lucky with the delays of FIA/Steward decisions. Able to swap during sprint with Oscar where Hulkenberg was already walking outside of his car. The greatly delayed red flag that cost Max for another run on Q2, again, that was luck swinging to Lando’s side, about 40 seconds for Stewards to decide for a red flag where a car is heavily crashed? The thing is, if Lando was on Max’s position during the race’s first red flag, he would have also gained an advantage. That’s just how the rules is, you benefit or lose sometimes, that’s life. And also, Lando made series of mistakes, as you mentioned, his race starts, then his own decision to enter the pits despite being told by his team that they should wait and lastly his lock ups(at least two, couldn’t keep it on the track). Max really dominated that race, the composure and not a single mistake. He really is part of the Rain Master class of drivers. In wet conditions, you really see who’s the all around top driver.
Ronald
3rd November 2024, 20:41
What is lucky about guessing there would probably be a red flag with all that rain?
Anyway, the main reason he had to make thatchoice was because he was unlucky the vsc ended before he could change his tyres.
Daniel
3rd November 2024, 23:26
And everyone seems to forget that Max was unlucky this morning with a red flag in Q2, otherwise he would be starting from 6th/7th, not 17th on the grid…
Owen Smart (@smartez)
3rd November 2024, 23:12
Unless you didn’t watch the post-race interview, you know full well that it isn’t clickbait and you’re just lying
Neil (@neilosjames)
3rd November 2024, 19:32
I dislike the red flag tyre change rule, and it did have a fairly significant impact, but it wasn’t all luck. There was a talent gap on show too.
Justin Fernando
3rd November 2024, 20:27
That’s just how the rules is, you benefit or lose sometimes, that’s life. If it was the other way round, Lando would have benefitted. Miami 2024, Lando’s luck was at maximum, he won that race because the safety car picked Max(who wasn’t the race leader.). All of them get luck sometimes, and also bad luck, that’s how it is.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
3rd November 2024, 19:32
Dude was what up to 6th from 17th without the red flag.
thegamer23
3rd November 2024, 19:35
Can’t wait for Piastri to floor him next season.
Edvaldo
3rd November 2024, 19:36
I would accept that from Russell who was leading early and fell out of contention because of the red flag to finish behind the 3 free pit-stoppers, but Norris?
The dude needed team orders to finish 6th! What is he talking about?
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
3rd November 2024, 20:07
He’s not completely wrong though. He was ahead of Russel at the time the red flag dropped so the same applies to him.
That he didn’t drive particularly well is a different story.
Edvaldo
3rd November 2024, 20:28
Well, Russell didn’t put a foot wrong the whole race and finished behind 3 guys who did not overtake him on track or with strategy.
But Norris…
FS005
4th November 2024, 5:11
He didn’t need team orders. Piastri had a 10s penalty.
The McLaren also doesn’t heat its tyres well and has very low straightline speed due to the decision to focus on downforce.
Those are pretty big disadvantages for starts. restarts and overtaking.
If Lawson hadn’t just let Max through then Russel and Norris would’ve come out ahead of him. Looks like Max now has a number 5 driver with team orders going to the junior team.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
4th November 2024, 18:51
Number 4, no? Don’t see who would be the 5th red bull affiliated driver.
David BR (@david-br)
3rd November 2024, 19:38
First you make your own luck and Verstappen drove brilliantly through the field to be in a place to benefit. Second, yes, the red flag free tyre swap rule does need changing but everyone knows about it and is in the same position. Staying out on track with used inters was a risk the others took and it worked for them. Plus Norris’s reason for pitting, expressed by him on the radio, was to pass Russell via the pits – a bad call on what his race priority was at that point. And Verstappen made the pass into first on track that Norris had been unable to do. Really he has no basis to complain this time, he was outdriven.
FS005
4th November 2024, 5:23
The race did change 180 degrees because of that red flag. That’s just the truth. If it didn’t happen then Max and the Alpines would have to make up for a 23s pitstop to recover.
After that point there was no way Lando was finishing ahead of Max.
McLaren made a massive error switching to a high downforce rear wing. It left them vulnerable on the straights (and restarts) and prevented both drivers from making any overtakes.
This is like how Vettel felt in his Redbull watching the cars ahead disappear down the straights while he was in their slipstream with DRS open.
Martijn
3rd November 2024, 19:38
How did Norris go off track after the last safety car, lose 5 places, clearly accelerate off track and come out ahead of Piastri? Why don’t we care about that anymore? This season has muddled all racing rules.
C
4th November 2024, 12:46
Exactly. Leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Minimum of 5 sec penalty
Bojangles
4th November 2024, 19:46
I was also wondering that there was no investigation here. Norris clearly gained a lot of places by speeding outside of the track..
Nikos (@exeviolthor)
3rd November 2024, 19:41
The guy had to go to an interview just a few minutes after losing the title.
I am sure that he will see things more objectively in the next few days.
Ronald
3rd November 2024, 20:43
Let’s hope so. He is usually a likeable guy, maybe he just lost control of his inner Zak Brown.
Dave
3rd November 2024, 21:35
Zak has been attacking RBR /Max all season long for one reason or another so although I like Lando maybe now Zak will keep his tongue still. Karma.
SteveP
3rd November 2024, 21:05
Yes, but it’s not really a “the Race Director broke the rules and destroyed my WDC win” is it?
He can’t blame Max catching a bit of luck today as the only cause of his problems today.
1. Another naff start
2. Sub-par driving
3. McLaren strategy [eye-roll and shake of head]
Lando was beaten by someone who drove far better (and had a bit of luck) and realistically would probably have been beaten by his teammate if said teammate hadn’t been reduced to the status of support act.
Nikos (@exeviolthor)
4th November 2024, 8:14
Norris did not claim that the Race Director broke the rules. I’ve watched the video of the interview and I think that when he said that “it shouldn’t have been a red flag” he was referring to the track conditions at the time that they decided to pit. He was trying to justify their decision.
That’s why he added that the crash caused the red.
SteveP
4th November 2024, 18:53
I never said that he did – it was a bit of hyperbole about how things worked out badly by pure chance on the red flag[1] before pointing out 3 negative factors on his race that were all in the control of Lando himself or his team.
[1] As opposed to AD21 where the RD did indeed break the rules.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
4th November 2024, 18:55
Yes, I’m guessing he’d have been better off with just the SC and no red flag, however that would still give a cheap pit stop to verstappen, basically letting him gain 10 sec just cause of the timing of the pit stop.
BLS (@brightlampshade)
3rd November 2024, 19:45
After giving the big talk for the last few years Norris is finding things are easier said than done at the front of the grid.
Max was virtually spotless today, fully deserving of his win. Norris just kept slipping up whenever any sort of pressure happened.
CarWars (@maxv)
4th November 2024, 9:00
Exactly, we all knew Norris was not really up for it yet. But like Rosberg, if you really want it, it can be done. Go to that mental coach, do everything for it. Perfect your starts and drive away every time in the lead after lap 1. It would be hard to compete with him. Nothing will simply be given…(generational thing?).
Roger Ayles (@roger-ayles)
3rd November 2024, 19:46
I have never seen a need to change the rule to allow tire changes under a red flag, it’s fine as it is because let us not forget in most cases the red flag is called because of a big accident and drivers may have driven through debris which could have caused damage to tires which may not be immediately obvious.
Preventing tire changes and then having a big accident caused by a tire failure goes against the safety based reason for calling a red flag to begin with.
And in situations like today it’s just down to making the right call. Norris & McLaren pitted early while Max & the Alpine’s opted to stay out which ended up been the right call.
Allowing tire changes under a red flag in conditions like today disadvantages those who pit early but then if you go the other way and ban tire changes you end up penalising drivers who can run longer which is arguably just as unfair especially when staying out into the worst of the conditions was arguably the braver thing to do given how driving in heavier rain on old inters arguably takes more skill to stay on the road so is it really fair to penalise that?
In todays case I also think those who pitted early simply made the wrong call as I think all but Sergio & Yuki switched to inter’s when I think it was obvious conditions were getting towards needing full wets. As such those who pitted for fresh inters likely would have needed to pit again anyway while those like Max who were yet to pit would have been able to go straight to full wets and ended up ahead anyway.
I think the only people who really lost out were those who went straight to full wets.
Edvaldo
3rd November 2024, 19:56
I don’t remember a single instance in which this rule make things better.
The complete joke that was the Monaco race this year was 100% because of this rule.
BMW P85 V10
3rd November 2024, 20:16
If the rule had been changed in the past there would not be any controversy about the AD2021 race. That season Lewis Hamilton took profit of the red flag rules twice, keeping him close enough in the title fight. (Imola/ Silverstone)
Didn’t hear much against those rules back then.
Edvaldo
3rd November 2024, 20:23
There are more cases. It’s a new thing because they’ve begun to overuse it recently.
Red flags were scarce until some 7 or 8 years ago and were used only on extreme cases, like the track being completely blocked by debris in Monaco 2011 or Raikkonen damaging a barrier in Silverstone 2014.
BMW P85 V10
3rd November 2024, 20:46
After Jules Bianchi’s dead FIA decided that a Red Flag should be used in more occasions to prevent this happening from ever again.
Davethechicken
3rd November 2024, 21:37
Agree with you Roger.
I thought Lando and George had made a dreadful error not putting for wets, then with the SC deployed it seemed they were on for an easy 1-2 with those on wets on the wrong tyre for the SC ending and Max and Ocon going to be swamped and have to it. Then the red flag for a crash under SC which may be the first ever??
Impossible for a team to predict.
But equally Max had bad luck in qualifying so kind of some karma
Quincy
4th November 2024, 7:45
Not the first time. Grosjean crashed under the SC in Azerbeidzjan in dry conditions. That’s even worse.
Davethechicken
5th November 2024, 19:18
You are quite right Grosjean crashed under SC but didn’t manage to get the race red flagged that day
Philby (@philby77)
3rd November 2024, 19:47
The masterclass narrative is a delusion, if we are to believe it then we should also accept as a fact that Ocon and Gasly are world class too.
Max had a good start then overtook drivers who had no interest in fighting him like Piastri or others who jumped out of his way like Alonso and Lawson the moment who found resistance (Leclerc) just settled.
Then 6th became 2nd effectively eliminating the roughest opponents.
Now as it unfolded and Max found himself again in his comfort zone and knowing that everyone would attest to his unbelievable luck put in all these fastest laps to have people singing his praises.
Well the media play the game because with the title fight essentially over they need to stir Interest and the only card the have left is that Max is the new Ayttom Senna.
Lando -not a fan of his whatsoever- is not wrong but the story of a worthy grand champion against the odds is just better than a lucky champion.
Patrick (@paeschli)
3rd November 2024, 19:59
So you want to argue Ocon and Gasly did not have a great race??
Philby (@philby77)
3rd November 2024, 20:24
Of course they did to the extend of avoiding mistakes. They capitalized on their good fortune and also the fact that their car was quite competitive in the wet conditions.
What I argue is this: Finishing in front of 2 Alpines even on their good day is hardly a hero’s drive, if anything his 2016 in very similar conditions was much better and at just 19 years old.
FERNANDO Martins (@fmrace)
3rd November 2024, 20:47
What about the 17th fastest laps?
SteveP
3rd November 2024, 21:11
Giving a brand-new ICE a beating, he may regret that in later races.
He raced well, just not as well as some people shouting.
As opposed to his rival who raced like, well, like he sometimes does – meh.
Edvaldo
4th November 2024, 1:28
Honestly? He was the only one of the top guys who had a clear track ahead of him by the end of the race, everybody else was stuck, as there was only one dry line.
So i wouldnt give much importance to that.
BMW P85 V10
3rd November 2024, 20:41
If you think Piastri had no interest in fighting Max, you really don’t get it.
Roy Beedrill
4th November 2024, 1:27
The sorest copium I’ve seen in a while. *facepalm*
I guess you think Max was also lucky in qualifying and Lando was unlucky then?
But I agree that Verstappen is nowhere near Senna. The latter occasionally drove so dirty against his opponents, that Verstappen’s scraps with Lando in USA and Mexico look pretty innocent in comparison. And yes, not a fan of his whatsoever, but Verstappen is way more talented driver in terms of racecraft. You can argue as much as you want, but I consider races like this and poles/wins ratio as something more telling than just blind overrating belief, largely based on the fact that the other guy is a “dead hero”.
GechiChan (@gechichan)
4th November 2024, 6:35
Yeah, some people can turn an exceptional performance – seen once every few seasons – into an explanation of averegeness. Drivers didn’t want to fight him, the strategy blunders by others, the tyre rules, the new engine, etc. etc. But forget to say the guy made 13 overtakes on track and finished 20s ahead of second place, with no excursions outside the black stuff (in a tricky race where even very experienced drivers like Lewis, Fernando or Hulk made big mistakes).
CarWars (@maxv)
4th November 2024, 9:02
Lando started on pole. Max started 17th. It was all luck.
Ronald
4th November 2024, 9:10
Wow, you must really deeply hate Verstappen.
Grapmg
3rd November 2024, 19:50
Max was already 5th the moment the VSC came out. So he jumped 3 guys Rus, Nor and TSU as Ocon also stayed out. You cannot claim Max was lucky today. Certainly not after that Q2 elimination and 5 grid penalty.
Also if the stewards would have penalized all the infringements right away it would have been a completely different race.
Mayrton
4th November 2024, 7:25
Yes, I understand the whole start infringement thing is being waved away, as expected since you never go hard on the challenger for the WDC.. it is financially more sane to stimulate a WDC title until the very last race. I am going to call it out then: FIA is corrupt and ridging F1 competition. This weekend was a display of their incapability of running this sport. It was a farce of ’21 proportions. And they still couldn’t get their desired result. Exposed sad little men.
Grapmg
4th November 2024, 8:53
I wouldn’t go that far. Just don’t take F1 to serious.
SteveP
4th November 2024, 19:00
5,000 Euro “wave” – so sayeth a document posted 9 hours before your comment.
Mayrton
5th November 2024, 7:28
Easily a 10 sec penalty for Max, had he done it. Severe breach of the safety on track (incl for the Marshalls out there). 5.000 fine. FIA should be brought to court over this by the Marshall association (if such a thing exists).
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
3rd November 2024, 19:51
It’s a strategic gamble, like every single one of them. You gamble your new inters will work or you gamble on a red flag. At a race with this weather, the chances are big. If it happened in a dry race maybe it’s even more of a gamble but this time there was reason to believe the race might be red flagged at one point. Of 10 teams, two gambled on it and it worked.
This wasn’t a made up rule, it’s been like this forever. So maybe next time McLaren can at least cover that possibility with at least one car?
Jere (@jerejj)
3rd November 2024, 19:54
Colapinto’s incident itself was manageable under SC, but I was okay this time around because of how rare even SC neutralizations have been this year, let alone race suspensions.
Simon
3rd November 2024, 20:28
You were OK this time. Glad to hear you were OK…
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
3rd November 2024, 20:54
No it wasn’t, man. That car needed assistance, and people sweeping the floor to clean the coolant. The conditions at that time were horrible. I’d rather them play it safe at that point.
Jack
3rd November 2024, 20:00
Sore bitter person Lando has turned into.
He can’t even overtake his teammate and has to have Oscar ordered to let him past.
Not World champion material
Patrick (@paeschli)
3rd November 2024, 20:07
Cherry picked like from a dejected driver, so let’s not look too much into it.
But let’s be honest, if it was pure luck, Colapinto, Perez, Gasly or Hulkenberg could have won. Yet Verstappen was the one to come out on top, can’t write that off as pure luck.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
3rd November 2024, 23:35
Was it 17 seconds he won by in the end? Though there is every reason to think things are going to get tougher for Max, he still keeps being able to produce performances that others just can’t. He didn’t win because he was in a Red Bull today, perhaps in spite of being in a Red Bull.
MXMXD (@mxmxd)
3rd November 2024, 20:08
I’m not sure this is the kind of personnality and temperament that a team with championship aspirations should keep in its fold.
David West
3rd November 2024, 21:05
Norris is now starting to show he is just a good driver in a very good car, a top driver would not be making so many mistakes.
Had he not lost the lead at the start AGAIN, he would have won that red flag or not, stop being so childish and acknowledge a great drive from Max.
David BR (@david-br)
3rd November 2024, 21:35
Can only agree. For me this was the race where the Lando excuses ran out.
Osnola
3rd November 2024, 21:21
The kind of luck you are allowed to finish your lap after a crash to luck into pole when the faster driver is unable to finish his lap by a late red flag.
Yep that kind of luck…
SteveP
3rd November 2024, 21:51
Norris was through to Q3 before the yellow flag, the lap he finished just improved the time for his Q2.
Verstappen was eliminated by a fast lap from Leclerc that was completed a whole 2 seconds after the yellow flag was raised.
What happened with the yellow to red change was totally irrelevant to either driver.
Plus, don’t forget that Verstappen passed the yellow flag incident at the start of his faster lap attempt, and since the rules dictate that you should slow – I presume he did, and that would have pretty much binned any chance of improvement. If he didn’t slow, then the rules would have had the lap time deleted.
His bad luck was having Stroll driving to a predictable standard in front of him.
Bojangles
4th November 2024, 20:12
You conveniently forget the most important point: if RC would have red flagged directly after the crash, Max would have had another run…
PeteB (@peteb)
3rd November 2024, 21:21
Nah Lando…. It’s irrelevant what Max did today and whether it was luck or talent. You screwed the start up yet again and then couldn’t get round Russell whilst Verstappen was cruising past car after car. Then after the red flag, you were 4th… Not great but even if you can’t beat Max, you can at least finish 2nd by passing the two slower cars. But no… You finished 6th.
An Sionnach
3rd November 2024, 23:36
While there was some luck, it was largely talent.
f12007v (@f1fan-2000)
3rd November 2024, 23:42
Shortest run to T1 and he can still mess up the start
Dex
4th November 2024, 1:30
Verstappen utterly destroyed him in conditions that favor driver skill over machinery, although Norris did have the fastest, and Verstappen the third or forth fastest car to be fair. The difference in car control, pace and overall racecraft was huge this time. Kinda wrong time to make such petty claims.
After disappointing performance by Norris, this comes as even bigger disappointment. I don’t care about who’s nice or not (Verstappen doesn’t try/pretend to be himself), but this isn’t what winning mentality looks like. As for the talent, Verstappen is the more (most) talented driver; there’s no discussion about that for now.
Edvaldo
4th November 2024, 2:35
Red Bull was at worst 2nd fastest this round mate. Max was great, no need to exaggerate.
N
4th November 2024, 12:09
“Verstappen utterly destroyed him in conditions that favor driver skill over machinery”
Alpine has entered the chat.
AlexS
4th November 2024, 3:03
Strang that Lando do not say that SC bunching up all cars and drivers loosing the advantage they have made until then is not unfair.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
4th November 2024, 3:18
Norris is wrong – I imagine Verstappen would have won regardless of anything. He’s good in the rain and Red Bull brought out the rocket which we have not seen since Spain.
It’s been in a class of its own so anyone driving that would provide a masterclass. The moment that car was chosen, the race was Max’s to lose come rain or sunshine. He would have smoked the McLarens either way. If anything on dry he could probably overtake both at the same time in the same corner and they’d be scratching their head as to what happened as the car slices through corners like nothing else.
SteveP
4th November 2024, 19:04
Not everyone
The evidence for my repudiation of everyone is given below:
Perez
Bojangles
4th November 2024, 20:23
Oh dear, oh dear…
CarWars (@maxv)
5th November 2024, 1:42
The flaw in your logic is that the so called ro rocket was seconds slower than anything in a dry race (mostly 10+ sec during the race compared to dry. So your rocket theory, lets say its 1sec faster, its totally irrelevant… You dont need a rocket, you need a wet weather setup..see Alpine..
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
4th November 2024, 7:03
Any part of this race that happened after 3 pm local time (which thanks to the weather was all of it), per the Bianchi settlement of 2017, cannot be counted as run. That the FIA chose not to call the whole thing off at that point breaches its responsibilities and has left it open to legal challenge. That was to force races to be not be run in dangerous conditions. If McLaren feels as Lando does, that would be the sensible approach to this matter. However much the racing might have been enjoyed, the drivers’ lives were risked unnecessarily.
Williams, who paid the most for the FIA’s behaviour, would doubtless assist.
José Lopes da Silva
4th November 2024, 9:00
Norris lost because the FIA forced a race too dangerous, and also because the FIA stopped the race, making it too safe.
NM
4th November 2024, 9:34
Norris lost because he wasn’t good enough.
Bojangles
4th November 2024, 20:26
Very enjoyable comments today!
Illusive (@illusive)
4th November 2024, 7:16
Lando is a good driver but he aint Max Verstappen. This will be dent to his confidence and I have never seen him this defensive in a interview. I think in a few days Lando will finally realize the words he said a few years ago, when he didnt have the fastest car, “Its easy if you have the fastest car”. It aint, not in these conditions when true champions rise. I can only recall wins against the odds from Max, Lewis and Fernando, Seb doing it on multiple occasions in my time of watching F1. It is a very small club of elite drivers who at their peak have this capacity. Maybe Lando will reach it someday, but today, just watch, learn and admire.
Mayrton
4th November 2024, 7:35
That’s quite a distorted view on things. Race control did you a huge favour with the timing of the VSC during the sprint, the Red flag during quali and looking the other way on a clear infringement of the starting procedure. If anything I would be looking at myself, having shunted off track twice during the race and losing positions. I get the British media is very biased, but that doesn’t mean a clever chap like Lando should fall for their narratives. He really needs to step up his game.
HerbertSteward (@madlewis)
4th November 2024, 8:55
Salty Norris. Yes..Max had some luck with the red flag. But in qualifying Max was unlucky with a red flag. Nevertheless Max was by far the fastest. He certainly would’ve grabbed a podium from P17.
SteveP
4th November 2024, 19:13
Unlucky with the yellow flag – since he passed Strolls “speed parking” incident with a yellow flag he was limited to a time for sector 1 that didn’t improve on his previous S1 times, even without a red flag he had no time to do another run, and he was dropped into the elimination zone by Leclerc just 2 seconds after the yellow appeared for S1.
He was already doomed to 17th before the RD even saw the Stroll crash site video.
Benhur
4th November 2024, 14:24
Lando, Lando, do you really want to lose what little respect people still have for you?