Ex-McLaren Employee Claims ‘Lando Norris Wasn’t Prepared’ in the Right Way for the Aborted Start

The 2024 Sao Paulo GP got off to a chaotic start even before the lights went green. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll beaching his car led to an aborted start, which called for a complete reset for the teams lined up on the grid. Unfortunately, pole-sitter Lando Norris misinterpreted that, which was allegedly due to a lack of preparedness.

Marc Priestley spoke about teams going through different types of start procedures ahead of a race back when he was a mechanic with McLaren. He revealed how the mechanics and engineers were finely tuned to deal with a traditional start without hiccups, but when something out of the ordinary happened, it had the potential to spoil preparations.

This is where McLaren went wrong on Sunday.

“McLaren and Lando [Norris] weren’t prepared — or certainly Lando wasn’t prepared in the right way… With an abandoned start, drivers should stay on the grid, effectively go back through the whole start procedure,” Priestley said on his YouTube channel.

After completing the first formation lap, Norris stopped at the starting line, awaiting further instructions from the stewards. When they relayed the ‘aborted start‘ order, Norris set off on another formation lap, which likely prompted the others behind to follow.

The FIA presumably gave Norris the benefit of the doubt on a weekend that was a rollercoaster ride, not just for McLaren, but for the entire grid. He didn’t get a penalty during the race, which many thought he would have to serve.

Post-race, the top two, George Russell and Norris got a €5,000 fine each along with a reprimand, as they stimulated the second formation lap.

Unfortunately, it didn’t matter all that much in the end, because Norris’ battle for the world championship was over because of the MCL38’s pace at Interlagos.

Disaster for Norris

Maybe it was Priestley’s theory about Norris not being prepared for an aborted start, but the Bristol-born driver had a terrible launch when the lights finally went green.

Norris was too slow, and P2 starter Russell was just as quick to get underway. He grabbed the lead at the get-go, which made Norris’ task of winning all the more difficult. But soon, it was evident that even if he had been leading, his rival Max Verstappen (who started P17) would have likely passed him at the end.

The McLaren cars were agonizingly slow on the straights, probably due to the high-downforce wing they had installed to counter Interlagos’ wet surface.

Verstappen meanwhile, was a man on a mission. He breezed past the rest of the field, putting in one of the best drives in F1 history to win the race comfortably. The 44-point gap he had to Norris at the race start, increased to 62.

With just three Grand Prix weekends remaining, it looks unlikely that Norris will taste championship glory come the season finale in Abu Dhabi next month.