Where Norris lost crucial points in Verstappen title fight

Lando Norris has emerged as Max Verstappen's biggest rival in the drivers' championship this season and currently sits 78 points behind the Red Bull driver. 

However, Norris' deficit could have been considerably less, had it not been for some errors. Even Norris outlined that there have been moments this year where he wishes he could "rewind" the clock.

"From a race point of view, there have definitely been some moments that I wish I could rewind, that I wish I could do a little bit better," said Norris, speaking to RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview.

However, Norris has also been pleased with his overall performance this year, which has already seen him finally claim a maiden F1 victory. 

"But on the whole I feel like I've been a much stronger driver this year than last year, and to me, that's most important," added Norris.

Overall, Norris is satisfied after the 14 completed rounds this season, despite the fact his 78-point deficit to Verstappen could be smaller. There have been several races where Norris has not maximised his result. Spain and Hungary are stand outs, although there were other cases prior to this.

At the start of 2024, McLaren did not have the leading package like they currently do. However, Norris will not look back fondly at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, the second race of the year. The Briton went for an alternative strategy and ended up behind debutant Oliver Bearman. 

Bearman raced for Ferrari in place of Carlos Sainz, who was taken to hospital for appendicitis. Norris was not rewarded for his alternative strategy, and was left to finish behind Bearman in P8. 

In Imola, Norris came agonisingly close to victory, as he finished just seven-tenths behind race winner Verstappen. Had the race included a further lap, then Norris would have had DRS into the first corner. 

Austrian blow

The Canadian Grand Prix was another race at which Norris dropped points. The Briton was incredibly fast at the beginning of the race, but ultimately the right choices were not made by the pit wall while Norris led.

This prevented him from attacking Verstappen, who completed his pit stop for a second set of intermediate tyres a lap prior to Norris and gained the race lead as a result.

The race after that in Spain, Norris was the fastest driver but made a poor start. The Briton, who started from pole position, was overtaken by both Verstappen and George Russell. Norris took too long to overtake Russell, and fell short of reclaiming the lead from Verstappen. 

In Austria, Norris and Verstappen lost points due to their collision, which resulted in the McLaren driver retiring from the race. Had it not been for clash, a victory looked likely based on Norris' pace advantage over Verstappen. 

A further error was made in the British Grand Prix where Norris, by his own admission, came in a lap too late at the final series of pit stops. On top of that, Verstappen overtook him for second place in the closing laps. The wrong compound was also fitted by McLaren, which handed victory to Lewis Hamilton. 

Costly mistake in Hungary

Another poor start from pole position in Hungary saw another potential victory slip through Norris' finger tips, with team-mate Oscar Piastri having claimed the lead into the first corner. 

An earlier pit stop put the Briton in front of Piastri, but a few laps before the end the positions were reversed again, following orders from the team.

Norris did not play the game smartly in Hungary, after ignoring team orders for several laps. Had the 24-year-old returned the race lead to Piastri when McLaren first ordered it, he would have then had several laps to attack his team-mate. 

It saw Norris lose a further seven points, although he did preserve his good harmony with McLaren. In the last race before the summer break, the Belgian Grand Prix, Norris finished behind Verstappen. 

Verstappen finished ahead of Norris despite having started in P11, with the McLaren driver having made another poor start from fourth. Norris ran wide at the first corner and lost several places. Following a late pit stop, he was overtaken by the Red Bull driver. 

Overtaking was incredibly difficult in Spa-Francorchamps, which saw Norris have to settle for fifth. It is difficult to predict how races would have gone if Norris and McLaren had done some things differently; however, what is certain is that points have been dropped. 

Realistically, Norris' 78-point deficit could have easily been closer to the 50-point mark, leaving him with considerable work to do in the final 10 races of the season should he want to beat Verstappen to the title.