Lando Norris was adamant he could 'do no more' despite missing an
open goal in the F1 drivers' championship battle following a
shocking weekend for McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri. After Piastri
crashed out in the final part of qualifying to line up ninth on the
Baku Street Circuit grid, Norris could only finish two places ahead
in seventh. Worse followed for Piastri when he crashed again at
Turn 5 on the opening lap of the race, but with Norris stuck in DRS
trains on several occasions, rendering overtaking almost
impossible, and with a slow pit stop also costing him dear, he took
the chequered flag in the position in which he started. Despite the
possibility of taking a considerable slice out of Piastri's
31-point lead going into the race, the Briton emerged from it still
staring at a 25-point deficit. There are, however, still 199 up for
grabs. Asked as to whether he felt like he had spurned another
missed opportunity, speaking to Sky Sports F1, Norris said:
"Everyone says that. I did the best I could yesterday, and I did
the best I could today. "The opportunities are there every weekend.
Every race I didn't win was an opportunity missed. "Of course,
today, I wanted more. Seventh was not a good result, but I couldn't
do anything more today. It was lost yesterday because of going out
a bit early [after Piastri's crash in qualifying], and not doing
the best lap. "Maybe I could have gained a couple of positions [on
the grid], but I don't think it would have changed anything today.
It's just impossible to overtake. "I look back on yesterday more
than anything today. I thought the pace was all right today when it
needed to be. I did a long stint on the medium. "Could things have
been a little better? Yes. Do I think anything would have changed?
probably not." With hindsight always a wonderful thing, Norris
stated that if he could replay certain situations in qualifying, he
"certainly would change some things". He added: "But we're doing
the best we can every weekend. "It's hard to be perfect in the
world of Formula 1. I'm trying to work on things, and could I have
done some things better? Yeah. "It's not without trying, or doing
everything I can. I'll just continue doing what I'm doing, but I'm
always trying to do better."
open goal in the F1 drivers' championship battle following a
shocking weekend for McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri. After Piastri
crashed out in the final part of qualifying to line up ninth on the
Baku Street Circuit grid, Norris could only finish two places ahead
in seventh. Worse followed for Piastri when he crashed again at
Turn 5 on the opening lap of the race, but with Norris stuck in DRS
trains on several occasions, rendering overtaking almost
impossible, and with a slow pit stop also costing him dear, he took
the chequered flag in the position in which he started. Despite the
possibility of taking a considerable slice out of Piastri's
31-point lead going into the race, the Briton emerged from it still
staring at a 25-point deficit. There are, however, still 199 up for
grabs. Asked as to whether he felt like he had spurned another
missed opportunity, speaking to Sky Sports F1, Norris said:
"Everyone says that. I did the best I could yesterday, and I did
the best I could today. "The opportunities are there every weekend.
Every race I didn't win was an opportunity missed. "Of course,
today, I wanted more. Seventh was not a good result, but I couldn't
do anything more today. It was lost yesterday because of going out
a bit early [after Piastri's crash in qualifying], and not doing
the best lap. "Maybe I could have gained a couple of positions [on
the grid], but I don't think it would have changed anything today.
It's just impossible to overtake. "I look back on yesterday more
than anything today. I thought the pace was all right today when it
needed to be. I did a long stint on the medium. "Could things have
been a little better? Yes. Do I think anything would have changed?
probably not." With hindsight always a wonderful thing, Norris
stated that if he could replay certain situations in qualifying, he
"certainly would change some things". He added: "But we're doing
the best we can every weekend. "It's hard to be perfect in the
world of Formula 1. I'm trying to work on things, and could I have
done some things better? Yeah. "It's not without trying, or doing
everything I can. I'll just continue doing what I'm doing, but I'm
always trying to do better."
The post Lando Norris defiant after missing open goal following Oscar Piastri disaster appeared first on RacingNews365.