Lando Norris Gives Brutally Relatable Response Following Failed F1 Title Attempt

Lando Norris’ first attempt at winning the F1 title was halted after he finished fourth at the Qatar Grand Prix.

After Max Verstappen claimed victory, the British driver crossed the line in fourth following a late error by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, putting him 12 points ahead heading into the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

However, after McLaren chose not to pit either of its drivers following an early safety car, leading to the Woking-based team turned a potential double podium into a 2-4 finish.

Lando Norris 'wants to go to bed' following Qatar nightmare

Lando Norris, McLaren, Brazil 2025 — McLaren Racing

Verstappen's victory extended his podium streak to nine consecutive races and puts him in strong contention for the title against all the odds.

The Dutchman's ruthless consistency will put Norris and McLaren under more pressure in the season finale, but Norris’ cautious approach to dealing with him remains unchanged.

“It’s the same as every weekend,” he said post-race. “I try and beat them, they try to beat me. It’s nothing different. I just want to go to bed."

Norris added that his recent momentum since the summer break has him in a strong position heading into the finale.

“Nothing I can do about it,” he said. “Obviously, not our greatest day, not our greatest weekend. But if anyone saw the run of results I had before that, it was great. I put myself in this position. I’m still happy. It wasn’t our finest day, it wasn’t my finest weekend in terms of driving and putting things together.

“But that’s life. Everyone has bad weekends. I take it on the chin, we all take it on the chin and we’ll see what we can do next weekend.”

Lando Norris defends McLaren despite its blunder

The decision not to pit either McLaren driver during the safety car period proved costly, due to the revised mandatory two-stop rule introduced ahead of the race weekend.

The blunder allowed Norris’ teammate Piastri to finish second, while Norris struggled to overtake Antonelli or Sainz on fresh tyres until Antonelli made a minor error in the closing laps.

Piastri was left feeling "speechless" after the race, but Norris believes McLaren made the decision it thought was best, given the knowledge it had at the time.

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“We could have done many things differently but we didn’t. We thought we did what was correct so nothing wrong. I still had a long race ahead of me so I had to focus and do my best.

“Both of us should have [pitted] and I would have had it hard either way as we would have double stacked and potentially I would have lost time.

“But something we’re all going to talk about and review. I also have to have faith that the team are making the right call and that’s what I had today.”

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