Norris hints at deeper concern behind lacklustre F1 start

Lando Norris has suggested an underlying issue was behind his poor start at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Taking the start from pole position, Norris slipped behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen on the run into the first corner.

Norris has long been critical over his starts and is yet to reach an opening corner in the lead from pole position during his career.

The McLaren driver was able to re-take the lead later in the race after closing down Verstappen before building an insurmountable margin en route to victory.

With Norris' team-mate Oscar Piastri also suffering a poor start, the Briton hinted a deeper problem was at the root of the troubles off the line.

“We know what to do,” Norris told media including RacingNews365. “We know what's required to do a perfect start. 

“But we're talking about fine margins here. Because we both didn't get it right, it seems like maybe there was more underlying issue. 

“Or something wasn't how it was supposed to be, or we've clearly misjudged something more than what others did.”

Norris hails Piastri race start abilities

Addressing his start concerns earlier in the weekend, Norris labelled himself as “one of the best average starters”.

The 24-year-old conceded he is lacking in that area compared to team-mate Piastri.

“Oscar is one of the best starters on the grid,” Norris admitted. “I'm not as good as him, but there or thereabouts. 

“I'm not a bad starter, but not as good as obviously what we need to be. 

“Again, it was a race which almost slipped away off the line, but today was, again, different to every other thing that's happened. 

“So, kind of like I said before the weekend, we need to find a bit more consistency, but we've worked on it and I feel like I've done better procedurally, but obviously didn't turn into the correct thing.”