The 4 departures that cost Lando Norris dearly in 2024

We obviously did not wait until 2024 to discover the immense potential of Lando Norris en Formula 1. But for the first time in his career which began in 2019, the Briton has a car capable of fighting every weekend or almost for victories, making his good days even more beautiful (like in Miami where he achieved his greatest victory) but also highlighting his small errors that previously went unnoticed.

In addition to some damaging errors that he himself admitted, the Englishman has especially failed to make starts since the start of the year, even though he had shown himself to be reactive in the past during the exercise. The problem is that his four missed starts came during the three pole positions he has taken since the start of the season. Two in Grand Prix and one in sprint race.

Lando Norris hasn't always smiled in 2024. © Joao Filipe / DPPI

“I have to work on myself and on certain points, he confided in an exchange with Sky Sports F1 on the side of Woking. I feel like I have the [right] car and I have what I need around me. But I probably made a few too many mistakes in the last month. I lost opportunities. I would like to fix that. »

Among the points he seeks to perfect, Lando Norris has one in particular in mind: " Departures, he admits. Knowing how to make a decision... It's small things that have had big, big consequences. In Formula 1, it often happens that a small difference has big consequences because it is very close. But I know it and I also know that I have to work on these points and stay focused. So that’s what this summer break is going to be for me – both to unplug and to review a lot of points and make sure that I come back stronger. » Overview of his missed starts since the start of the year.

The sprint in China

Author of the pole sprint in front Lewis Hamilton et Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris has a good chance to win and cross the line as winner for the first time in a Formula 1 race, as his teammate did Oscar piastri in Qatar in 2023. The problem? The seven-time world champion was quicker than him to take off. By trying too hard on the outside of turn 2, Lando ended up being taken off the track, onto drying tarmac. Result ? He tumbled to 7th place, before finishing in the anonymity of 6th position.

The Spanish Grand Prix

Back in pole position in a Grand Prix for the first time since Russia 2021, Lando has been on a roll since his victory in Miami and his second places acquired in Imola and Canada. Except that on Sunday, when the lights went out, the Englishman was so focused on Max Verstappen (which he packed on the right of the track) that he forgot the Mercedes in the second line. On the slipstream, George Russell came to his left under braking for the first corner and entered the curve with more speed than everyone else, taking the lead of the race from a sandwiched Lando Norris. Third for a large part of the race, he took 2nd position from Russell only halfway through the race. In the meantime, Verstappen had taken his 7 seconds lead, and finally won with 2 seconds ahead of Lando Norris. The outcome and the name of the winner could have been different if the Englishman had been able to stay in control at the first corner...

The Hungarian Grand Prix

New pole position for the Briton, and new disillusionment at the first corner. Once again starting worse than his opponents, Lando had to bow to Oscar Piastri on the inside. Worse, he had also passed by Max Verstappen and found himself 3rd, like in Barcelona…

On a track where overtaking is not numerous, Lando chased after lost time. If he regained control of the race thanks to an earlier stop than his teammate, he was logically ordered to let the Aussie take the lead again. To win the race, he would simply have had to stay ahead at the first corner. He would thus have really had priority in the pits and would not have had to give the lead back to the Australian.

The Belgian Grand Prix

This time, no pole position to report. Just another small error at La Source, exiting the first turn. Starting 4th just ahead of Oscar Piastri, Lando made a small mistake by going wide into the gravel before attacking the steep section, losing ground and crucial positions, to the point that he finished the first lap in 7th position. This immediately compromised his race as he only finished in 6th position on the track (5th after Russell's disqualification) when his teammate scraped a podium finish. We will have to get back on our feet at the start to no longer run behind our mistakes in the second half of the season.

ALSO READ > No more nighttime simracing for Max Verstappen at the Grands Prix!