McLaren boss bemoans 'cruelty' that struck Lando Norris

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown believed Lando Norris was hit by "cruel" luck after being denied a Spanish Grand Prix victory by an ill-timed safety car.

From a "masterpiece" of a pole position at the Madring, a word used by McLaren team principal Andrea Stella to describe his driver's out-of-nowhere lap, Norris comfortably led the opening 14 laps.

However, an incident involving Aston Martin's Lance Stroll sparked a virtual safety car. Unfortunately for Norris, he missed the window by five seconds, whilst behind him, Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and Red Bull's Max Verstappen both pitted.

Norris then pitted just as the VSC ended, coming out fifth behind leader Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari, Antonelli, Verstappen and the second Mercedes of George Russell.

After Mercedes opted to pit Russell for a second time, and Leclerc pitted late on, Norris moved up to third, and despite hounding Verstappen over the closing laps, around a track where it proved almost impossible to pass, the Briton had to settle for that place as Antonelli took the chequered flag.

Asked about the racing gods not smiling on Norris, speaking on Sky Sports F1, Brown said: "They were cruel today - twice!

"I mean, Lando was gone; the team did a great job. The VSC came out a couple of seconds after Lando had gone by, and then went away a couple of seconds before we pit. There's nothing we could have done.

"[But] Great to hear Lando's radio message, we just shrug it off. I think that was our race by 20-25 seconds."

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'We were too quick' - Norris

On the cool-down lap after the race, Norris was quickly on the radio to his team, recognising the cruelty of his situation.

"We take it on the chin," remarked Norris. "We were too quick. That's all it was. Very unlucky today, guys. We deserved the win quite easily, so a big thank you.

"I didn't think we were going to have a chance here. We should have won. All right, guys, keep it going. I'll keep delivering. Keep working hard. We can still win plenty more races this year."

Brown stated that Norris "was dominant" around the Madring. He added: "He was gone. Managing it, great; tyre wear was great. Yeah, he was in a league of his own. It's just unfortunate.

"He's got a trophy, but it's a P3, not a P1."