Norris rues ‘unlucky’ pit stop timing in Sao Paulo as he vows team will ‘keep our heads down’ despite title setback

Lando Norris was left to rue his “unlucky” timing in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix en route to his P6 finish, with the Briton losing out after making a pit stop just prior to a red flag which allowed others to change tyres without pitting.

While he conceded the lead to George Russell when the race got under way, Norris remained on the tail of the Mercedes for much of the early stages of what proved to be a chaotic affair. But after both drivers lost out slightly by pitting just as a Virtual Safety Car period came to an end, their luck took another turn for the worse when a red flag was thrown on Lap 32 following a crash for Williams’s Franco Colapinto.

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This allowed those who had not yet pitted – which included the three leading cars of Esteban Ocon, Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly – to change tyres during the stoppage, before Verstappen went on to take the lead a few laps into the restarted race and subsequently claim an impressive victory.

With Norris ending the event down in sixth – while he also awaits the results of an investigation for a start procedure infringement, having set off on an extra formation lap when an aborted start was called rather than staying on the grid – the result means that the McLaren driver has lost ground to Verstappen in the championship fight, with the Dutchman now ahead by 62 points.

Reflecting on how the situation with the pit stop timing and the subsequent red flag unfolded, Norris explained after the race: “Yeah, you can change the tyres under the red flag, that’s what the others did. Just unlucky. Unfortunate, sometimes it just goes your way, so nothing we did wrong.

“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 that was the crash in the end which caused the red. That’s life sometimes – you take a gamble, that has paid off for them. It’s not talent, it’s just luck. [We were] a bit unlucky, that’s all.”

HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the action as Verstappen stages remarkable comeback in Sao Paulo while Alpine claim double podium

It was not smooth sailing for Norris at other times during the 69-lap encounter, with the 24-year-old slipping down to seventh following a post-Safety Car restart on Lap 43, though he moved up to sixth after McLaren opted for a position switch with Oscar Piastri.

Quizzed on how difficult the conditions were – as well as where the outcome of the race now leaves him heading into the final triple header of the season – Norris responded: “Yeah, I still made a couple of mistakes in the end.

“I had cars on my left and my right, I locked the rears, I went off, I lost two positions. A little bit unfortunate there, just my own fault, so not a perfect race for me.

READ MORE: Verstappen reflects on ‘absolutely crazy’ Sao Paulo GP after sublime climb from P17 to victory as he extends title lead

“But I think no matter what, fourth was the best anyone could do today of the people who boxed and didn’t get lucky, and otherwise [we’ll] just keep our heads down.”