Lando Norris ruined his own chances of victory at Austrian GP

Lando Norris might've cracked under pressure against Max Verstappen even before the race-ending collision at the Red Bull Ring.

Lando Norris ruined his own chances of victory at Austrian GP

Lando Norris (via IMAGO)

The Austrian GP witnessed an exciting battle for the lead between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. Unfortunately, things escalated quickly and both drivers suffered heavy damage. However, one could argue that Norris could have won the race with ease had he not made a few errors against the reigning world champion.

Max Verstappen got off to a flying start in the main race. Norris and McLaren had no answer to the Dutchman for the majority of the Grand Prix. However, a botched pitstop in the Red Bull garage allowed Lando Norris to come within the DRS range of Verstappen. It seemed that the Briton was on course to his second F1 victory.

YouTube video

Things did not go as planned, Norris found himself desperate to get past the race leader. Ultimately, the McLaren driver could not even continue after the incident and had to retire his car. While Verstappen salvaged some crucial points in the championship. As such, did Lando Norris ruin his own chances of victory at Austrian GP?

FS Video

Lando Norris might not be ready to truly challenge Max Verstappen

Norris did win the Miami GP against Verstappen this year. However, a late Safety Car played a pivotal role for that result. During the Sprint race in Austria, Lando Norris lost the lead and second place while trying to defend against Max Verstappen. Perhaps. that moment was still fresh in his mind as he fought for the win during the Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris
Max Verstappen and Lando Norris (Via: Imago)

Verstappen was defending aggressively, pushing the rules to the limit. On the other hand, Norris was infringing track limits and even locked up while trying to make a move on the Dutchman. Even if the collision between the two didn’t happen, Lando Norris would’ve lost the race following the five-second penalty for track limits.

It will be interesting to note that Charles Leclerc had defeated Verstappen in Austria two years ago, by making moves on the same corner as Norris. While Lewis Hamilton pushed to the limits in his infamous title fight with the Dutchman in 2021. As such, there might be a lot for Lando Norris to learn if he wants to be in the battle for the championship.

Certainly, Lando Norris is far from happy after the Austrian GP. The British driver will be looking to bounce back at his home race at Silverstone this weekend. However, it remains to be seen how things pan out between Norris and Verstappen in the coming weeks.

In case you missed it: