“I’m unhappy, devastated”– Lando Norris admits it was his decision to stay out; turning out to be major misjudgement

“I’m unhappy, devastated”– Lando Norris is devasted after the defeat in Sochi after an error of judgement during the rain spell.

Lando Norris was on the verge of getting his maiden win in a Formula 1 Grand Prix, but a wrong decision snubbed him recording his first-ever victory.

Talking about the incident, Norris is bitter about his defeat but blames himself for remaining with his slick tyres instead of pitting for the intermediaries, which made him spin in the end, giving Lewis Hamilton a win.

The moment a first #F1 win finally slipped away from Lando Norris#RussianGP pic.twitter.com/W3ofVyM6Fb

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 26, 2021

I don’t know where to start. I’m unhappy, devastated in a way,” said Norris. “We made a call to stay out, and we stand by that. It was the wrong one at the end of the day, but I made the decision just as much as the team. It was more than they thought I should box, and I decided to stay out.”

“It was my decision, I thought it was the way to go. I don’t think it changes too much. I had the confidence beforehand that I was capable of doing it (leading a race) and I’ve felt capable of doing that for a while. So I don’t think that’s really changed. It’s just a bit of heartbreak.”

“I felt like I did everything I could, even when it got a bit tricky at the end. I made a couple of mistakes but still kept Lewis behind and managed to pull away a little bit.”

Out of luck

Norris then reveals it was a gamble that didn’t play out, as his team expected the track not to get any wetter, which could have allowed him to win.

“A bit of luck like the laps I was out before Lewis boxed was perfectly fine for the tyres I was on and I got told the rain was going to stay the same amount. Had it stayed the same amount we had the right decision, but it obviously got a lot wetter than we as a team expected.”

“When it’s only two laps to go, when there are 20 to go you’re maybe not as aggressive with decisions. We did what we thought was right, which I’m happy with.”

“It was wrong at the end of the day but everything until then the guys did an excellent job. I’m happy with everything apart from that one decision which we’ll review and try not to make again.”

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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