Lando Norris‘ wait for a win in F1 continues after he missed another opportunity in China during the sprint race. He apologized to his team after the sprint, but his boss, Andrea Stella, doesn’t want him to say sorry.
Norris started the Chinese GP sprint from P1, and considering McLaren’s pace on display throughout the weekend, the Bristol-born driver had a chance of competing for the win. Unfortunately, he made a mistake on the first turn on the first lap, conceding the lead to Lewis Hamilton. He then also went wide, allowing several cars to pass him.
Lando Norris on the team radio post-race:
“Yeah, I f**ed up turn 1, my bad.
“I just completely lost the car, so apologies.
“Should have scored some more points than that.”#F1 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/y8uBgmGRI5
— F1 News (@octagram_f1) April 20, 2024
Norris eventually finished P6 and will be ruing a chance to score big points for his team, who is looking to catch Ferrari in the standings. Andrea Stella, however, had words of consolation for the 24-year-old. He said,
“This just gives a sense of the kind of person he is. Don’t worry Lando, you haven’t disappointed the team, we need to give you a better car”
(asked about lando apologising on the radio) “this just gives a sense of the kind of person he is [..] don’t worry lando you haven’t disappointed the team, we need to give you a better car” andrea
— ray (@ln4norris) April 20, 2024
Norris was visibly disappointed after the race, as his wait for a win in F1 continues. Even his teammate, Oscar Piastri, won a sprint race (Qatar 2023), something which according to the Aussie, Norris reminds himself every day.
Lando Norris’ hunt for a race win
Ahead of the 2024 season, Lando Norris signed a contract extension with McLaren that will keep him tied to the team until at least the end of the 2026 campaign. He wouldn’t have signed a long-term contract with the Woking-based outfit unless he believed in their ability to win races in the near future.
Norris has had a few chances of winning races in the past. In Russia 2021, he made a mistake and in Qatar 2023, he didn’t maximize the potential his car had, according to him. Still, he remains one of the sport’s most talented drivers.
Stella’s words of encouragement shows that the team knows what Norris has to do to win races. McLaren, a team on the ascendency, will most likely provide Norris with a better car in the coming months, and then, the Briton could turn out to be a regular contender for race wins.
