Norris delivers ‘idiot’ assessment after huge Qatar blunder

Lando Norris insists that to be fastest in F1, he simply must not “be an idiot” following his huge Qatar blunder.

Norris was handed a 10-second stop-and-go penalty during the Lusail race that dropped him from second place to out of the points, although he eventually recovered to P10 and took the fastest lap. 

He was penalised for a failure to slow under double-waved yellows on the pit straight that inform drivers they must slow down and be prepared to stop – with race-leader Max Verstappen lifting slightly to meet the rule. 

In losing the places, McLaren’s lead in the constructors’ was reduced from a near unassailable lead to 19 points heading to the Abu Dhabi finale, with Norris in a particularly reflective mood after the blunder.

“I’ll be going in the same as we do every weekend,” Norris told media including RacingNews365 of the Abu Dhabi finale.

“The team gave me the best car out there [in Qatar], and I am very happy and thankful for them, I got a good start, got past George and thought he would be our biggest competitor.

“But that wasn’t the case, Max was and he did an incredible job. 

“We go into every weekend wanting to win, wanting to the best, wanting to be fastest and I just need to not be an idiot and do what I did. 

“Abu Dhabi won’t be as good as [Qatar], so it is a massive opportunity lost and I’ve disappointed the whole team, and the only thing I care about is my team.”