Lando Norris makes ‘pretty embarrassing’ admission as new Verstappen evidence uncovered

Lando Norris dubbed his start at the Las Vegas Grand Prix “pretty embarrassing” having lost the lead of the race to Max Verstappen.

The McLaren driver chopped to the inside of the circuit ahead of the first corner, but with that being the dirty side of the track, he braked late and ran deep into the corner, offering the Red Bull driver the chance to pass for a lead he would not relinquish.

Lando Norris dubs Las Vegas GP start ‘pretty embarrassing’

Norris eventually crossed the line in second place, but he and teammate Oscar Piastri had their results stripped after both were disqualified for excessive plank wear.

This turn of events has brought Verstappen much closer to Norris’s lead at the top of the standings, and while the McLaren driver remains the hot favourite for the title with a 24-point lead and two rounds remaining, there is a slim chance of him being overhauled.

Norris had said of the moment in the immediate aftermath of the race: “I made the mistake into Turn 1. You’ve got to be punchy into Turn 1.

“I was just a bit too punchy and that cost me, so that’s the way it is sometimes.”

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It has emerged that Norris was left flustered by Verstappen’s approach to the formation lap, with the Red Bull dropping back on the approach to the grid to perform a series of burnouts.

Verstappen completed five burnouts at the end of the formation lap with Norris limited to just three, putting the McLaren driver at an immediate disadvantage at the race start.

Verstappen’s warmer tyres on a cold Vegas night almost certainly played a role in him getting a better launch than Norris.

Norris was asked further questions about his race in the post-Las Vegas media rounds and his view of his start had not improved with the benefit of a short amount of time.

He also highlighted the pace Verstappen and Red Bull have combined to show of late, with the reigning world champion able to step up his pace and improve through the course of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Norris simply said of his start to Sky F1 in the TV pen: “Pretty embarrassing. I need to learn from Turn 1 and try to do a better job than I’ve been doing recently.”

Elaborating, he added: “I know we won in Brazil, but we weren’t quick enough in Brazil relative to what Max was.

“They seem very good. Max is doing a very good job and the Red Bull car seems very quick and they are beating us.

“I just hate getting beat, simple as that. I hate that they are quicker at the minute. We’ve got to try and step it up a bit.”

Norris needs to outscore both Verstappen and Piastri by two points over the course of the weekend in Qatar to secure his first title in Formula 1 with one race to spare, with both a Sprint and grand prix to come.

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