Lando Norris’ poor start in the Hungarian Grand Prix, which he blamed for his defeat in the race, was affected by a “small glitch”, his team have confirmed.
The McLaren driver lost his lead from pole position to team mate Oscar Piastri, who went on to win. Max Verstappen also used the opportunity to overtake Norris, though he went off the track in doing so and handed the position back when advised to by his team three laps later.
McLaren confirmed after the race Norris “experienced a small glitch finding second gear during his acceleration from pole.”
Norris finished second behind Piastri after letting his team mate through with two laps to go in response to repeated instructions from the pit wall. He took the lead after gaining the benefit of an earlier pit stop than Piastri when the pair came in for the second time.
After the race Norris blamed his slow start, rather than his team’s tactics, for his defeat. “I didn’t lose the win there, I lost the win off the line,” he said. “I had – not even a terrible start- just a bad start. Something happened on my second shift and I lost all my momentum. Oscar got to the inside and that was it.”
Norris has failed to keep his lead on all five occasions he has started a Formula 1 race from pole position. These include his first pole position at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix and this year’s race in Spain, where he blamed his subsequent defeat on a poor start. He also lost the lead from pole in this year’s sprint race at Shanghai and last year’s at Interlagos.
Piastri said getting ahead of Norris at the start was key to his victory as it allowed him to spend much of the race in free air. “Track position made a very big difference today and I think that’s why having the start I did was so critical,” he said. “Ultimately I didn’t quite have the pace that I wanted in the last stint and I still need to go and assess why that was the case.”
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2024 Hungarian Grand Prix
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