Norris left frustrated by ‘embarrassing’ moment that ‘ruined my chances’ in Belgian GP

Lando Norris could not hide his disappointment after a challenging Belgian Grand Prix that saw the McLaren driver finish two places lower than he started, having dropped from P4 to P6 – which became fifth due to winner George Russell getting disqualified.

Norris was compromised on the opening lap of the race when he ran wide exiting the La Source hairpin and dipped a couple of wheels in the gravel, dropping him to seventh position.

RACE START: Watch the getaway at Spa as Leclerc keeps the lead, Hamilton jumps Perez and Norris drops back

He eventually managed to reclaim sixth from Carlos Sainz via another off-track moment, but that proved to be the limit as the Briton spent the second half of the race stuck behind Red Bull rival Max Verstappen, who had risen up the order from 11th after an engine penalty.

Asked to assess his day, prior to gaining a spot thanks to Russell’s car being underweight, Norris said: “Honestly, Turn 1 ruined my chances of everything.

“I just tried to avoid any contact with the people on the inside and I misjudged the kerb. Then I bottomed out on the kerb and I went off, so I felt a bit stupid honestly, almost embarrassing – it actually was embarrassing.

“But the pace was very good, the car performed well. I actually felt pretty good out there, was in good shape it’s just overtaking was impossible so a bit stuck.”

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On getting stuck behind Verstappen, he commented: “I couldn’t even get close, I was close… Just you lose like one second in the middle sector following and you can’t do anything after that.

“A bit frustrating that I couldn’t make more progress, as I felt the pace was good in the car, but just not the pace to go forwards.”

Asked if the pace Mercedes displayed had surprised him, with Russell provisionally winning on a one-stop strategy and Lewis Hamilton backing his team mate up on a two-stop, Norris added: “No, not really. They had track position and track position was king today, so no.

“I feel like everyone doubts them, doubts what Mercedes can do, [but] they’ve been almost just as quick as us for the last month, just everyone underestimates what they can do.

AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from the Belgian GP as one-stopping Russell beats team mate Hamilton

“On a day like today, they just do what they are very capable of doing which is a good job, so fair play to them.”

Heading into F1’s summer break, Norris sits 78 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ standings, while McLaren are 42 points down on Red Bull in the constructors’.