In what might have been one of the best races of the 2024 Formula 1 season, Lando Norris fumbled his championship hopes during the Sunday Grand Prix. Heading into the race, Norris seemed primed to reduce the gap to Verstappen by 25 points, but ultimately the gap has extended. The dream of a championship battle took a twist quickly in São Paulo, with a mix of driver errors from the Papaya boys, and a drive that will go down in history from Max.
High Hopes and the Build-Up for Lando Norris
Lando Norris entered the Brazilian Grand Prix with an air of optimism. McLaren’s resurgence in the second half of the season had been fuelled by strong upgrades, reliable performance, albeit not without controversy around their rear wing, and the kind of consistency that kept Norris on Verstappen’s heels. The team has been closing in on Red Bull and leaving Ferrari and Mercedes in the rearview. This momentum made Norris’ championship ambitions feel almost within reach, but Lando wasn’t able to capitalize on having the best car on the grid.
McLaren’s team principal emphasized that their strategy revolves around maximizing points in the constructors’ championship, indicating that individual driver successes are secondary to the team’s overall performance in this title race.
The São Paulo Grand Prix was supposed to be a critical point. With Verstappen looking to break his own ten-race winless streak, he knew it will be a challenge. The Dutch driver knew, he’ll get a 5-place grid penalty for changing some of the engine parts ahead of the weekend. But the situation got much worse when he failed to advance to Q3, when Lance Stroll has crashed in the rainy qualifying. A sad P12, turned into P17 due to the penalty and made the atmosphere in RB garage quite harsh.
On the other end of the pit lane, Norris’ pole position for the race seemed like a perfect starting point for narrowing the gap in the championship standings. He had only George Russell’s front wing next to him in P2, and then a bunch of much slower cars, of Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson and Esteban Ocon, which he should have been able to pull away from easily.
Lando’s Awful Lack Of Awareness
The turning point of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix came when Lando Norris and George Russell pitted for fresh tires after running over 20 laps on intermediates. While George Russell has been asking his team to postpone the pit stop, Lando Norris was the one asking for it. The timing of their pit stops coincided with the end of a virtual safety car period, costing them their top positions. This decision ultimately led to Norris dropping down the order, and he was unable to recover. In contrast, Max Verstappen, who had started from 17th on the grid due to a five-place grid penalty, was able to capitalize on the situation and take the lead.
The conservative strategy was only the first of several errors. As Norris struggled to maintain pace on the track, and made numerous mistakes, costing him precious seconds, Verstappen pushed with relentless precision. Norris was unable to make any offensive moves. The only overtake manoeuvre took place, when Oscar Piastri let him past. It’s worth noting, that Oscar was ahead of Lando, because of yet another mistake by Norris.
Similarly to Russia 2021, Lando Norris showed that he is unable to make a right strategic call under pressure. A bad strategy call coming from the driver cost him a lot of places, just like his resilience in coming to pits when the rain hit in Sochi.
During the post-race interview, Lando showed how childish he is, and blamed it all on bad luck. With such mentality, it will be difficult to win anything in the future for him.
Weather Woes and Tactical Missteps
São Paulo’s notoriously unpredictable weather added another layer of complexity. While the rain was never as heavy as expected, the intermittent drizzle was enough to make tire management a nightmare. A critical moment came when a red flag allowed certain drivers to change tires at a strategic moment, significantly impacting the race dynamics for Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. What turned out to be costly for some, gave the opportunity to the Alpine drivers, as Ocon and Gasly benefited from the red flag. The weather got so bad, the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix was only a mere rain compared to it.
This decision highlighted an all-too-common pattern in Norris’ season—McLaren’s frequent conservatism when the moment calls for bolder decisions. While his team’s calculated approach kept him consistently in the points, it became a liability in a race where Verstappen and his team were clearly ready to risk it all. By the time Norris rejoined the track, Verstappen had sliced his way up the grid, putting himself in a far better position to close the gap.
Verstappen’s Dominance
Max Verstappen’s dominance in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix a generational drive. In a car, that wasn’t the fastest, but was close to being the 4th fastest, behind McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes, despite starting from 17th on the grid, Verstappen was able to surge through the field and take the lead. He then proceeded to pull away from his rivals, eventually crossing the finish line with a significant lead of almost 20 seconds. 9 out of 10 fastest laps in the race came from Max.
Verstappen’s performance was all the more impressive given the challenging conditions, with the race being run on a wet track with near-zero visibility, making overtaking more challenging in the spray of water from cars ahead. To make the P17 to P1 comeback even more impressive, let’s remember that Perez started ahead of Max, and didn’t score a single championship point in the same exact machinery.
The Psychological Toll of a Constructors Championship Chase
It’s easy to underestimate the mental strain of a championship chase. For Verstappen, winning has become almost second nature, and his approach in Brazil reflected that confidence. But for Norris, in his first real shot at the title, the pressure was undeniable, and the British driver showed that he still needs to learn a lot to become a champion. Every decision, every pit stop, every turn held enormous, and Norris cracked under pressure a couple of times.
In his attempts to play it safe, Norris may have been holding back just enough to give Verstappen the advantage. He looked hesitant in wheel-to-wheel battles, especially against drivers he typically outpaces with ease. The Championship battle with Lewis taught Max how to race hard, but within limits, and I believe, that if we erased the 2021 season, Max wouldn’t be such a great driver as he is right now. Before that, he was a great talent, and championship contender. After the 2021 Abu Dhabi finale, something switched, and he became a race winning machine.
A Wake-Up Call for McLaren
In hindsight, Brazil should serve as a stark lesson for McLaren and Norris. The team’s cautious approach, coupled with a driver perhaps too aware of the stakes, created a perfect storm of missed opportunities. McLaren’s strategy has been about minimizing risks to stay consistent, but this approach backfired in a high-stakes showdown. With Verstappen surging from 17th to 1st, and Lando dropping from 1st to 6th, the Papaya team missed an opportunity for a huge points haul.
Norris’ sixth-place finish only widened Verstappen’s lead to 62 points, creating an almost insurmountable gap with only three races left. With Verstappen on track for his fourth consecutive title, Norris and McLaren must now reflect on what might have been.
It’s not only Norris, who lost significantly, but the whole McLaren team. With a potential 1-2 in the race, they could have almost clinched the Constructors Championship Title, and now the lead over Ferrari is only 46 points, with still 3 races to go. Vegas is anyone’s game, and Ferrari has been strong in Qatar in the past, so they may end up without a single trophy to their name
