“It’s Frustrating”: Lando Norris Rues Grave Mistake That Handed Oscar Piastri Golden Advantage

Even if you have prepared yourself for every scenario that might arise, you cannot foretell what fate has chosen for you to unfold. This is exactly what happened to McLaren ace Lando Norris, who after winning two consecutive P2 finishes hoped for a similar outcome. However, this time it wasn’t him; instead, it was his Australian teammate, who was ecstatic after earning a solid P5. However, all this took place due to a single grave error made by the Briton which gave Oscar Piastri a valuable opportunity to beat the British Belgian driver.

Following a great run at the British GP and Hungarian GP, Lando Norris was aiming to have a result favorable to him this time again. However, what transpired was something the 23 year wasn’t ready for. Cruising in his healthy MCL60 to set the time for single lap pace, Norris drove wide at Turn 16 in the first qualifying round, and his engineer first reported front wing damage. However, later it also was found that the Briton has also damaged his floor however he somehow made his way initially to Q2, then to Q3 to eventually finish only at P7.

Norris has been brilliant in both the qualifying and race pace since McLaren came up with the upgrades. And only when the fans as well as the entire team were expecting another spectacular result it was discovered that Norris came home with disappointment. In his chat with SkysportsF1, the Brit rued the grave mistake in Q1 that had a lasting impact on the MCL60’s floor after an earlier downpour of showers.

He said, “I went off in Q1, and completely destroyed the floor. I am happy to have made it to Q3. I was a lot of time. Oscar did a good second sector. If I didn’t make a mistake in Q1, we could have been closer. It’s frustrating because it was very close to those ahead.”

READ MORE: Amid Added Pressure of Expectations, Lando Norris Exposes Zak Brown & Co.’s Inflated Success Story

Though Oscar Piastri, who previously stated that he wanted to defeat Lando Norris in order to show his mettle, really accomplished that at the Belgian Track. However, despite achieving his aim, the Australian was still highly dissatisfied. But why?

Why was Oscar Piastri dissatisfied even after beating Lando Norris?

Piastri is doing an outstanding job of challenging not just his teammates but also legendary F1 drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. He is putting a stamp on the fact that he is undoubtedly performing better in MCL60 than Daniel Ricciardo did in MCL35.

However, he recently stated that he wanted to defeat Norris, which he did at Spa Francorchamps, where he raced for the first time and earned an advantageous P5.
Nevertheless despite that, he was still not satisfied because Piastri’s ability to record even faster lap times was hindered by the courses’ getting drying out.

While shedding light on the matter Oscar Piastri said, “I felt very comfortable when the conditions were really tricky like that. I think in some ways the track drying up and becoming closer to normal was a hindrance for me because I’ve not done a dry lap around here in an F1 car, so for braking points and stuff like that. Especially when off-line, it’s wet, you never want to brake too late and I think that’s where I left quite a bit on the table unfortunately.”

WATCH THIS STORY: How Lando Norris Had a Chance to Go to Red Bull But Instead Chose McLaren

Though Norris was discovered to be upset following a major mistake, do you believe he will recover effectively and make his mark today in the sprint?