Formula 1 Russian GP
Devastated Norris will bounce back a stronger driver, says McLaren
Lando Norris will bounce back from his Russian Grand Prix heartbreak a 'stronger' Formula 1 driver, says his McLaren boss.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Oct 1, 2021, 7:35 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The young Briton looked on course to win his maiden F1 race from pole position at Sochi on Sunday, as he held off Lewis Hamilton behind him in the closing stages.
But it all went wrong a few laps from home when a downpour arrived and Norris and his McLaren team left it too late to switch to intermediate tyres.
The delay cost him a lot of time and opened the way for Hamilton to take the win.
Norris eventually came home a frustrated seventh, admitting afterwards he was "devastated" at what happened.
Just a fortnight on from the disappointment of missing out on the chance to grab a victory in Monza, as teammate Daniel Ricciardo triumphed, the latest event will not have been easy to take.
But McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl is convinced that Norris won't take the let down to heart, and both he and the Woking-based squad will come out of the Russian GP better prepared for the future.
"I think it will we make him and the team stronger because it's these moments where you learn the most as a team," said Seidl, when asked by Motorsport.com on what impact recent frustrations will have.
"It's always easier if everything goes to plan. A moment like this is a big disappointment, but an opportunity to learn and to do better as a team together with Lando next time around.
"It's part of the sport. It's no different from junior categories where things like this happen and there are big disappointments - especially when he was so close to something really big.
"But I think he has enough experience, and the team as well, in order to come back out of this even stronger."
Norris appeared to have the win in the bag as the laps counted down, with Hamilton behind him struggling to get much closer to the McLaren.
And while there is little reason to think that Norris would not have held on if it had stayed dry, Seidl says he will waste no time wondering about what might have been.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
"I'm a guy that is not wasting energy with could have, should have," he said.
"You have to look at the facts, and you have to do an analysis on what we could have done better, and then you reset and go again.
"I'm not wasting any time thinking about what's possible, for example, to win his first race. He's disappointed, we're disappointed with the outcome of the race, with the last three laps. But frustration, disappointment, that doesn't move you forward."
Seidl said that he always knew that McLaren's progress up the F1 order would hit some hurdles at times, but it was something that he thinks will only serve to be a benefit longer term.
"Part of this journey is that you have to accept that it doesn't always go onwards and upwards," he said. "It's a normal part of the sport. And you have days like this, which was a big disappointment.
"But it's also an opportunity to stay humble and to stay both feet on the ground.
Read Also:
- Ten things we learned from F1's 2021 Russian Grand Prix
- Red Bull says Verstappen's Sochi F1 podium "like a victory"
- The "blind faith" Mercedes call that won Hamilton his 100th F1 race
- McLaren's mistake in Sochi F1 race not only its weather forecast
"What is important is to keep respect for all your competitors as well, to simply keep learning. And again, with everything that I'm seeing from the team, I'm very, very happy and very confident that once we have everything in place that we need in our journey, we will be in a position to fight Red Bull and Mercedes again regularly.
"And obviously it's great to see that already now occasionally, depending on the tracks as well, we are actually in a position to fight for pole positions or for a race win."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Ten things we learned from F1's 2021 Russian Grand Prix
Next article Mercedes has "a few balls in the air" over F1 engine reliability
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
More from
Lando Norris
Why McLaren cannot fix its F1 car handling until 2027
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Why McLaren cannot fix its F1 car handling until 2027
Andrea Stella praises Lando Norris for reaction to Singapore GP sprint clash
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Andrea Stella praises Lando Norris for reaction to Singapore GP sprint clash
Latest news
Spire, Chris Gabehart reject Joe Gibbs Racing premise on deleted texts
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
3 h
Spire, Chris Gabehart reject Joe Gibbs Racing premise on deleted texts
Ricky Stenhouse explains his side of Michael McDowell conflict
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
7 h
Ricky Stenhouse explains his side of Michael McDowell conflict
Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 8 h
Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test
Why NASCAR is not penalizing Stenhouse, McDowell for post-race theatrics
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
9 h
Why NASCAR is not penalizing Stenhouse, McDowell for post-race theatrics
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe