Autobayng News Team
Lando Norris believes the changes Red Bull made to their car after qualifying made them quicker than McLaren in the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen was eliminated in the first round of qualifying which left him 16th on the grid for the race. Red Bull decided to start him from the pit lane so they could change his car’s suspension set-up and fit a new power unit.
From there Verstappen raced to finish third, despite losing time early in the race when he pitted to replace a punctured tyre. He led at one stage and Norris had to pass him following a pit stop.
Norris was pleased with his car’s performance over the weekend but said it was clear Verstappen had a quicker car than him during the race.
“I think it was still a strong victory,” he told Viaplay, “it was a good race, well executed, good start, good restarts, good pace. I think just the Red Bull was a bit faster, because I saw him coming, he was not a long way away.
“I had a little bit of pressure at the end and I just had to push on a bit more. But still a great day, a great weekend for me.”
Following his victory in Mexico two weeks ago, Norris claimed a maximum score in Brazil after winning both the sprint race and the grand prix. However he said he must keep looking for ways to improve his performance.
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“At the minute, yeah, things are going great. But I think in Formula 1, as soon as you think things are great and you relax, that’s when things go wrong. So as long as I keep my head down, I keep pushing then I’m fine.”
Verstappen closed on the two Mercedes drivers at the end of the race, passing George Russell and taking the chequered flag close behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff also suspects Red Bull ended up with the quickest car following their overnight set-up changes.
“With Max, you can never write him off, even if he comes from the back,” said Wolff. “I think they did the right things on the car. That was probably the fastest car of the race.”
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