SINGAPORE, Oct 11 (Reuters) – McLaren’s Lando Norris delivered a harsh self-assessment after a weekend of costly mistakes at the Singapore Grand Prix, conceding on Sunday his decision-making let him down once again as a potential podium position slipped through his fingers.
After apologising for colliding with teammate Oscar Piastri on the final lap in Saturday’s sprint that cost the McLarens fourth and fifth, Norris had the opportunity to take third place from Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in Sunday’s race.
As Hamilton’s pace collapsed in the final stages, Norris attempted to pass his compatriot but the Ferrari driver went wide while he went on the dirty part of the track, allowing Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli to pounce and move up.
“I should have done a better job battling Lewis. It was inevitable that I was going to pass him at some point, I just shouldn’t have tried to overtake him when I did,” Norris said after finishing fourth.
“I braked a bit late and could have still put a good move in and he would have had to let me pass because he braked way too late. A bit unnecessary from me.
“Not a good weekend for me in terms of making decisions like that.”
McLaren face mounting pressure in the constructors’ championship after Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the last two races in Sepang and Singapore.
Red Bull, fourth in the constructors’ standings, are now within seven points of third-placed McLaren and Norris was pessimistic about his team’s chances of holding off their rivals.
‘WORST OF THE TOP FOUR’
“We can’t (catch up) unless we bring upgrades and we don’t have anything for a little bit,” said Norris, the reigning champion who is sixth in the standings this year.
“At the minute we’re fourth-fastest back to the top group, which is closer than we were at the beginning of the year and we can still fight pretty well.
“We’re still fighting for top four and almost for podiums but we’re still too far off and we’re the worst of the top four teams. We just have to keep upgrading the car.”
However, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said they had learned more about their cars after races in Sepang and Singapore.
“I think there’s no big surprises. It was good to see that here in Singapore, we are where we expected to be,” he said.
“Verstappen and Red Bull are just taking advantage of the upgrades that they have delivered and it’s what we call, this season, the ping pong.
“Basically, people come with upgrades, even if like in the case of Mercedes, I understand that they have some issues themselves. But people coming with upgrades, they can take a little step forward.”
(Reporting by Rohith Nair and Tom Westbrook in Singapore;Editing by Christian Radnedge)
