“I misjudged it”: Lando Norris takes the blame for his mistake at the start of the Belgium F1 Grand Prix

Lando Norris blames himself for misjudging the first corner where he lost five positions at the start of the 2024 Belgian GP. Speaking to onsite media, the McLaren driver felt that the race was a tough one with minimum overtaking.

Starting in second row in fourth place, Lando Norris was unable to finish higher than fifth place in the Belgian GP. He crossed the finish line sixth behind Max Verstappen but George Russell’s disqualification promoted him to fifth. He lost several positions at the start where Charles Leclerc jumped into the lead of the race. The McLaren driver reckoned that he misjudged the start after which the race became a struggle with limited opportunities to overtake.

In the process of being too cautious at the start, Lando Norris lost position during the race's opening laps. Most of his race involved being stuck in a train of cars making it hard to overtake due to the dirty air, which was detrimental to the tire performance. The 25-year-old driver rued not being able to maximize the fullest potential of their car.

Speaking to the media about the first corner at the start of the Belgian GP, Lando Norris said:

“Yeah, I just, I misjudged it, honestly. I just didn't want to get taken out in turn one, so I've left the gap and just misjudged the exit a little bit.”

Asked if he lost momentum from thereon, he said:

“Yeah, I mean, I lost four or five positions.”

Asked if the race was a struggle after losing positions at the start, Lando Norris said:

“Yeah, just impossible to overtake. The overtaking suck today, and I think there was very few overtakes actually done on track. Most of it was just in the pit stops and there was some overtakes, but only when you had like a 10 lap tire advantage. So otherwise, yeah, a bit of a tough race with the overtaking. And I felt like we were quick. The car was quick. I just don't feel like we maximised what we could have done.”

---

Lando Norris acknowledges throwing away points with errors

Land Norris acknowledged losing vital points due to mistakes and bad starts in the last few races. With McLaren being the quicker car from Canada to Belgium, it was important for them to have more than two victories. So far the Briton has won one race and has been unable to convert the competitive advantage into results. Although the Woking team lost a few races due to strategy errors, the 25-year-old believes he needs to review his season and return stronger after the summer break.

Reflecting upon the last couple of races, Lando Norris said:

“I've given away a lot of points over the last three, four races just because of stupid stuff – mistakes and bad starts, Turn 1 now. I don't know why. It's just silly things. It's not even difficult stuff. It's just... Turn 1, trying to stay out of trouble, trying to make sure there's a gap and not get hit, and then I put myself off the track. Just some stupid things. The pace is good, the team are doing an amazing job so I'm happy."

“In a way I feel like I just don't want to take a break – I just want to continue because we're in good form. Even today I feel like the pace was very strong. The last two, three races I've just not clicked as much as I needed to and given up a lot of points, so hopefully I can come back strong.”

"The last two, three races, I've just not clicked as much as I needed to and given up a lot of points so hopefully I can come back stronger.”

Asked what he would put down his lack of results to, Lando Norris said:

“Obviously my starts have not ben great. I was probably, yeah, a good amount of points off the line and now turn one again, easily a podium or even more. So there isn't one reason, it's just yeah I don't know maybe just trying a bit too hard and paying the price for that.”

Lando Norris has currently 199 points and is 78 points away from title leader Max Verstappen. His errors at the start thwarted his chances of reducing the Dutchman’s lead and increased the margin by two more points. With ten more races left on the calendar, McLaren will have to capitalize on every opportunity to challenge Red Bull for the title. The Papaya Orange squad is 46 points away from the reigning champions in the constructor's championship.