Lando Norris is undoubtedly having the best season of his Formula 1 career but the British Grand Prix was another missed opportunity for the 24-year-old.
After qualifying behind the two Mercedes drivers, Lando Norris was then leapfrogged by Max Verstappen on the first lap despite having arguably the fastest car on the grid.
He found a way past the Dutchman before the rain started to fall and that’s where Norris and his car were in their element.
Norris led the race going into the final round of pit stops, but that’s where his hopes of victory fell apart.
Speaking on Sky Sports F1 after the race, Karun Chandhok explained the most mistake McLaren and Norris made during that phase of the British Grand Prix that cost him victory.
Norris was disconsolate when asked about the result of the race and despite Red Bull have the third-fastest car on the grid, Verstappen was still able to extend his lead over the Brit in the Drivers’ Championship.
Verstappen is almost certainly going to extend his run of title victories at the end of this year, and while Norris may not be dreaming of winning a championship this season, he’ll be gutted he couldn’t double his tally of Grand Prix wins at his home race.
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Karun Chandhok explains the key mistake Lando Norris made during the British Grand Prix
Reviewing the final round of pit stops, Chandhok said: “Strategically, this is where McLaren made a mistake. We heard on the radio, they were saying, should we cover Lewis [Hamilton] on the soft, should be cover [Max] Verstappen on the hard.
“Personally, I believe they should have done their best strategy. And their best strategy was to put on a new medium.
“They did it with [Oscar] Piastri, Norris suffered on that set of soft tyres.
“Norris was suffering on those soft tyres, what is worth remembering is when they came out of the pits for that final stint, Piastri was 15 seconds behind Norris, he gained 10 seconds in that last stint.
“If McLaren had put Norris on a set of new mediums, even if he’d come out behind Lewis, against Lewis on a set of used soft, I believe Lando Norris would have won that Grand Prix.”
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McLaren sabotaged themselves at the British Grand Prix
There was an opportunity for McLaren to not only win the British Grand Prix but potentially secure a historic one-two finish.
Norris and Oscar Piastri were the fastest cars on the track once the rain started to fall and made the right call not switching onto the intermediate tyres too early.
However, McLaren decided not to double-stack their drivers during the first round of pit stops and Piastri lost around 15 seconds by staying out one lap longer as the rain got heavier, ruining his race.
If Norris had been put onto the medium tyres or even the hards, while there’s no guarantee that he would have won the race, he would have had a much better chance of fighting off Verstappen.
Norris admitted after the race that two calls ruined his opportunity to stand on the top step of the podium.
While the British crowd were delighted to see Lewis Hamilton win a record-breaking ninth victory at Silverstone, Norris will be wishing he was the driver earning the applause of those fans.
The post ‘I believe’: Karun Chandhok explains the one change that 'would have won' Lando Norris the British Grand Prix appeared first on F1 Oversteer.