Lando Norris rues costly bad start as Max Verstappen wins Spanish Grand Prix

Max Verstappen (centre), Lando Norris (left) and Lewis Hamilton celebrate on the podium - Getty Images/Chris Graythen

By the time he arrived at the main FIA press conference, an hour or so after this race finished, Lando Norris had cooled down a bit. The furious young man full of self-recrimination, who had cursed himself on his warm-down lap for having “f----- up the start” of this race, blowing what he insisted “should have been” his victory, had been replaced by a more measured one. Still disappointed, yes.

But stressing the positives of another weekend in which McLaren showed they were more than a match for Red Bull. But this behaviour is becoming a pattern. And nobody is more aware of it than Norris.

“I know, I know” he said. “Coulda, woulda, shoulda.”

If you were to look at this season’s results in isolation, you would imagine Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to be utterly dominant. This was the Dutch driver’s seventh win in 10 races, moving him 69 points clear in the drivers’ standings.

For all the talk that the field is converging, Verstappen has won three of the past four grands prix. Yet the truth is, he probably should not have won any of them. The three-time world champion took pole at only one of those four races, in Imola last month. And McLaren were left kicking themselves.

Verstappen went on to produce a champion’s drive, holding off Norris’s late charge to win by 0.7sec. Who knows what might have happened had the Woking team had two cards to play, and Oscar Piastri not been demoted three places on the grid? In Monaco, Red Bull were well off the pace. And then in Canada, George Russell should have won. And if not him, then probably Norris.

“Max is proving the difference,” acknowledged Red Bull team principal Christian Horner after this latest victory. “I think it would have been difficult to beat McLaren today if he had not got past him at the start.”

It was a statement of the obvious, but also an intriguing admission with Mercedes still sniffing around Verstappen.

Toto Wolff was asked once again after this race about his longstanding interest in the 26-year-old and whether there was “any dialogue” between them at the moment with regard to a seat, possibly as early as next year. Wolff denied there was. But there is no doubt he still wants him, and that he is holding off naming a replacement for the Ferrari-bound Hamilton for as long as there is even the remotest possibility that he might be able to snaffle him.

What a loss he would be to Red Bull. Their second driver, Sergio Perez, is still in a complete funk and unless the Mexican can rediscover some form, he is going to cost them the constructors’ crown.

This was another painful weekend for Perez, who qualified eighth, was demoted to 11th thanks to his three-place grid penalty from Canada, and recovered to finish seventh. The speed deficit to Verstappen was not such an issue when Red Bull enjoyed a gargantuan advantage over the rest of the field. But now that the pack has closed, Perez needs to up his game or he will find himself out of a seat, new contract or not.

As it is, Verstappen is working alone to hold off the field. He is doing an unbelievable job of it, but for how much longer? McLaren, and Norris in particular, will surely start to convert some of these positions soon. There are still 14 races left this year, and the title race is by no means over.

After their paddock home went up in smoke on Saturday, Norris’s hopes did the same within the time it took to get down to T1 on Sunday.

The 24 year-old, starting from pole, tried his best to defend from Verstappen on the long run down, pushing the Red Bull onto the grass at one point. But in focusing so hard on the Dutchman, Norris ended up being passed not only by Verstappen but by George Russell, too, the Englishman getting a brilliant launch to go from fourth to first around the outside.

Verstappen wasted little time in passing the Mercedes. Told by his race engineer at the end of lap two, with Russell within DRS range, that “this might be his best opportunity”, he made no mistake. Thereafter, Verstappen was able to manage his tyres and the gap to those behind him.

Norris tried an offset strategy, going longer on both tyre stints. But he had to battle back through the field the first time - engaging in a brilliant wheel-to-wheel battle with Russell at one point – and then from an eight-second deficit the second time. He managed to close to within 2.2sec of Verstappen by the finish.

Told he had finished P2, with the fastest lap, a result which lifts him above Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and into second in the drivers’ championship, he could not have sounded more crestfallen.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, bitterly. “We should have won. I f----- it up at the start. The car was amazing. Deserved more.”

Final positions after race (70 laps)

1. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:28:20.227
2. Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren +2.219
3. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP +17.790
4. George Russell (Gbr) Mercedes GP +22.320
5. Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari +22.709
6. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Spa) Ferrari +31.028
7. Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren +33.760
8. Sergio Perez (Mex) Red Bull +59.524
9. Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine +1:02.025
10. Esteban Ocon (Fra) Alpine +1:11.889
11. Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Haas F1 +1:19.215
12. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin at 1 lap
13. Guanyu Zhou (Chn) Kick Sauber at 1 lap
14. Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin at 1 lap
15. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) RB at 1 lap
16. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Kick Sauber at 1 lap
17. Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 at 1 lap
18. Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams at 1 lap
19. Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) RB at 1 lap
20. Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams at 2 laps

Spanish Grand Prix: As it happened

04:24 PM BST

Wheel-to-wheel action between Norris and Russell

04:21 PM BST

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella speaking to Sky

The win went away from us in the first corner. In Barcelona, it’s not a surprise you lose from pole position because it’s a long way to Turn One.

I actually appreciate that Lando kept out of problems. We wanted to finish the race. We knew the pace was strong. The strategy was strong. I want to praise the guys that prepared the strategy very carefully.

We knew here you don’t have to pit too early otherwise you run out of tyres. In the end, we missed out to fight for the victory.

I think the two cars are very, very close. That’s a great achievement for McLaren to talk about being on par with Red Bull but we want to improve the car.

04:18 PM BST

The thoughts of Lewis Hamilton

04:13 PM BST

Sergio Perez talking to Sky

04:12 PM BST

Podium streak

04:08 PM BST

More from Christian Horner

Do Red Bull have the fastest car?

I think it’s tight. It is small margins. Max and Lando were 18 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. In the end we got the job done and bagged maximum points.

Since Miami, Lando has probably been the standout competitor and we are going to have to be at the top of our game to win. It’s tight - but we keep winning. McLaren are doing a great job, Ferrari aren’t far behind, Mercedes are improving, but we are keeping our noses in front.

On Sergio Perez

We put him on a three-stop and it worked out. He passed Gasly on the last lap. He will take quite a bit of confidence out of that race.

Theoretically we said eighth was the best he could do when you look at all the sims and he achieved that. We do need to get him more in the mix.

On whether something needs to change with Perez to help in the constructors’ championship

If I’m not wrong we have scored the most points as a team, so as long as we keep doing that, the constructors’ continues to look healthy.

Sergio had a great start to the year. We just need him to get back to that form that he had in first four or five races. we know he can do it. It’s just getting him into the right headspace to deliver.

04:05 PM BST

Toto Wolff talking to Sky

04:01 PM BST

Christian Horner speaking to Sky

Max [Verstappen] drove a brilliant race and strategically we got it just right. We went for an optimum race time and it paid off.

We knew McLaren would come back with the overlap on the tyre but we had just enough in hand.

The first lap was crucial and the pass on George [Russell] was even more important.

On Max Verstappen:

He is so decisive, he just doesn’t mess about.

I think that is one of his key qualities - you know if he is there, he is going to go for it. The other drivers know that.

03:57 PM BST

One, two, three

03:55 PM BST

Champagne time

03:51 PM BST

Constructors standings

03:49 PM BST

Drivers standings

03:44 PM BST

Lewis Hamilton speaking after the race

It has been a good day, a solid weekend. I have to say a big thank you to the team as they have been training so hard. The strategy and the pitstops were really on point.

Unfortunately I got a really bad start and lost ground to the Ferraris so it was a battle to get back. With a better start... I don’t know if we could have held on to the guys ahead but I don’t think we would have been as far behind.

03:44 PM BST

A frustrated Lando Norris

03:43 PM BST

The thoughts post-race of Max Verstappen

03:39 PM BST

Top 10

1. Max Verstappen
2. Lando Norris
3. Lewis Hamilton
4. George Russell
5. Charles Leclerc
6. Carlos Sainz
7. Oscar Piastri
8. Sergio Perez
9. Pierre Gasly
10. Esteban Ocon

03:36 PM BST

So close for Lando

You can hear the frustration on the McLaren team radio as Norris is annoyed at himself for his start, where he dropped from first to third into turn one. Having finished just two seconds behind Verstappen, Lando know had he got a better start he could and probably should have won that race.

03:34 PM BST

First podium of the season for Lewis

03:33 PM BST

Top five

1. Max Verstappen
2. Lando Norris
3. Lewis Hamilton
4. George Russell
5. Charles Leclerc

03:32 PM BST

Verstappen wins in Barcelona

Lando has run out of time and Max Verstappen wins the Spanish Grand Prix.

03:31 PM BST

Lap 66 of 66- Onto the final lap

Norris is continuing to close on Verstappen but he will run out of time.

Behind Leclerc is right behind Russell.

03:29 PM BST

Lap 65 of 66- Lando getting closer

The gap is under three seconds. Can Norris do it?

03:27 PM BST

Lap 63 of 66- Gap coming down

Norris has now brought the gap down to under four seconds but is he running out of time? Lando lost time in the opening stages when he dropped from first to third at the start so had he not time there he would be right behind Verstappen.

03:23 PM BST

Lap 60 of 66- Gap update

Verstappen is just under five seconds clear of Norris at the moment. Lando is not taking the chunks of time that he was five laps ago but he is slowly reducing the gap.

Seven laps remaining.

03:20 PM BST

Lap 58 of 66- Ferraris change places

Leclerc is on the faster softs compared to Sainz’s hard tyres and the Monegasque driver is past his teammate into fifth. He is now just over five seconds behind Russell, who is on a set of hards.

03:18 PM BST

Lap 56 of 66- Gap stagnating

Norris was taking chunks out of Verstappen but the gap is now sticking around the five-second mark. 10 laps remaining.

03:16 PM BST

Lap 55 of 66- Top five with gaps

1. Verstappen  Interval
2. Norris    +5.3
3. Hamilton   +7.3
4. Russell    +1.8
5. Sainz     +5.5

03:13 PM BST

Lap 52 of 66- Hamilton past Russell

Russell covers the inside of turn one but Hamilton swings around the outside to take third.

Norris has just set another fastest lap and just taken eight tenths of a second out of Verstappen on the previous lap.

The conspiracy theorists will think Toto Wolff has engineered Hamilton beating Russell here to throw everyone off the scent.

03:11 PM BST

Lap 51 of 66- Should Mercedes swap?

Hamilton, on the softs, has DRS behind Russell, who is on the hard tyre. It feels like Mercedes should be swapping them around.

03:10 PM BST

Lap 50 of 66- Lando flying

Norris has just set the new fastest lap of the race after changing onto a set of softs. The gap is under seven seconds.

Behind Red Bull have just brought Perez in for his third stop.

03:08 PM BST

Lap 48 of 66- McLaren bring Norris in

Lando is called into the pits and it is a slightly slow stop of 3.6 seconds. Russell is flying down the straight but Norris just about stays ahead of him which could be crucial for his attempt to close on Verstappen. Norris onto a used set of softs.

03:05 PM BST

Lap 46 of 66- Moves everywhere

Russell is past Piastri, who is yet to pit for a second time. Behind also into turn one Hamilton overtakes Sainz.

One the next lap as Hamilton was closing in on him Piastri pits to put on the soft tyre.

03:03 PM BST

Lap 45 of 66- Verstappen into the pits

Red Bull bring Verstappen in as the gap to Norris had come down to just over four seconds. He is onto a new set of softs.

03:00 PM BST

Lap 43 of 66- Norris closing on Verstappen

With younger tyres Norris is reducing the gap to Verstappen. The gap was eight seconds when Norris passed Verstappen and it is now down to five and a half seconds.

Could McLaren make a one-stop work considering how long Norris was able to take the soft tyre at the start?

02:56 PM BST

Lap 39 of 66- Top five

1. Verstappen
2. Norris
3. Hamilton
4. Leclerc
5. Piastri

Russell and Sainz are sixth and seventh having pitted for a second time.

02:54 PM BST

Lap 37 of 66- Russell and Sainz pit

They both came in at the same time earlier and they do so again for their second stops. They both change from the mediums to the hard tyre.

02:51 PM BST

Lap 36 of 66- Brilliant driving from British drivers

What an exciting sequence of corners between Norris and Russell! Norris goes around the outside of turn three to take second, but Russell fights back and retakes the position. Norris then gets back past Russell out of turn five before the entry into turn six.

F1 at its very best there with respect between the two great mates.

02:49 PM BST

Lap 34 of 66- Piastri into seventh

It has not been the best of weekends for Piastri so far but is now into seventh after passing Gasly into turn one. Having stopped much later than others, he has much fresher tyres.

02:46 PM BST

Lap 32 of 66- Norris past Hamilton

Norris gets past the Mercedes driver into turn one up the inside and he is into third, just over a second behind Russell. He is around eight seconds behind Verstappen.

Verstappen taking the race lead so soon after the start was not what the neutrals were hoping for but this is now developing into an interesting race with McLaren choosing to go long with Norris’s first stint. Did they make the right call staying out?

02:45 PM BST

Lap 31 of 66- Norris right behind Hamilton

McLaren will want to see Norris, on much fresher tyres, get past the Mercedes duo as quickly as possible. He is right behind Hamilton, who does not have DRS behind his teammate Russell.

02:41 PM BST

Lap 29 of 66- Piastri makes moves

McLaren extended the stints of both Norris and Piastri and, moments after Norris got Sainz up the inside into turn one, Piastri repeats the feat on Perez and the Australian is into ninth.

Not long after Piastri gets past Ocon into eighth at the same place he got Perez.

02:40 PM BST

Lap 27 of 66- Norris passes Sainz

Norris is the fastest man out there at the moment and with a bit of help from DRS he gets Sainz up the inside. He is up into fourth.

Behind Leclerc also passes Gasly up the inside into turn one and into sixth place.

02:36 PM BST

Lap 25 of 66- Ferrari call in Leclerc

One lap after McLaren brought in Norris, Ferrari call Leclerc in for his first stop. He is also onto the medium tyre and comes back out in seventh.

Verstappen now leads from Russell, Hamilton, Sainz and Norris.

02:35 PM BST

Lap 24 of 66- Norris into the pits

McLaren decide to bring in Norris. He puts on a new set of medium tyres and comes out behind Sainz in sixth, but he has done a much longer stint than those ahead of him.

02:33 PM BST

Lap 22 of 66- Piastri pits

Verstappen had just got past the Australian and McLaren decided now is the time to bring Piastri in. He comes back out on a new set of mediums in 11th.

It does not take long though for Piastri to pass Hulkenberg into tenth.

02:30 PM BST

Lap 21 of 66- Top five

1. Norris
2. Leclerc
3. Piastri
4. Verstappen   
5. Russell

Top three yet to pit.

02:29 PM BST

Lap 20 of 66- Hamilton gets past Sainz

They nearly made contact through the first few turns on the previous lap but this time Hamilton passes Sainz. The Mercedes driver has DRS down the main straight and sends it up the inside. They squeeze together through turn two and Hamilton just about gets the move done.

02:27 PM BST

Lap 18 of 66- Red Bull bring in Verstappen

That was a rapid stop from Red Bull, under two seconds! All of the frontrunners who have stopped have gone onto the medium tyres.

Norris takes the lead, with Leclerc in second and Piastri in third. All three are yet to stop.

02:26 PM BST

Lap 17 of 66- Hamilton pits

Mercedes bring in their two drivers on consecutive laps. Hamilton comes out behind Russell and Sainz.

Over the McLaren team radio, Norris says he wants to stay out and close the gap to Verstappen.

02:25 PM BST

Lap 16 of 66- Slow stop for Russell

Norris was just having a conversation with his race engineer Will Joseph about potentially pitting. Maybe that was a dummy by McLaren to force Russell in and Mercedes do bring Russell into the pits.

Russell has a slow pit stop and only just emerges ahead of Sainz.

02:23 PM BST

Lap 15 of 66- Problems for Alpine

One lap after Ocon comes in, Alpine bring in Gasly, who was in seventh. There was an issue with getting off the right rear.

Magnussen meanwhile has been given a penalty for a false start.

02:22 PM BST

Lap 14 of 66- Perez and Ocon pit

Plenty of stops are now being triggered and we have Red Bull and Alpine bringing in Perez and Ocon respectively. Perez started on a set of softs and puts on another soft.

02:18 PM BST

Lap 12 of 66- Hamilton drops out of DRS

Norris has DRS on Russell, who is just under three seconds behind Verstappen. Behind Norris, Hamilton has lost the DRS and will be under some pressure from the two Ferraris behind him.

02:16 PM BST

Lap 10 of 66- First stops

We have our first few stops as Sauber’ Zhou and RB’s Tsunoda come in to get rid of the softs and put the mediums on.

02:11 PM BST

Lap 7 of 66- Top five with gaps

1. Verstappen  Interval
2. Russell       +1.4
3. Norris         +0.8
4. Hamilton    +0.8
5. Sainz           +1.5

02:09 PM BST

Lap 5 of 66- Sainz passes teammate

Leclerc started ahead of Sainz but the Spaniard has passed his teammate. We have heard over team radio from Sainz that there was a little bit of contact.

02:07 PM BST

Lap 3 of 66- Verstappen takes the lead

The Dutchman is told over team radio that now might be the best time to make the move and he obliges. He has DRS behind Russell and sweeps around the outside of Russell at turn one, in a similar fashion to what Russell did on the opening lap.

02:04 PM BST

Lap 1 of 66- Russell sweeps into the lead

He started in fourth but Russell gets a super slipstream and goes around the outside to take the lead. Norris drops from first to third.

02:03 PM BST

Off we go

The lights go out and we are under way!

02:00 PM BST

Formation lap

19 of the 20 drivers are making their way around the circuit on the formation lap. Remember Williams’ Alex Albon starts from the pit lane. Everyone except Albon, who starts on the mediums, is going to start on the soft tyre, interesting that nearly everyone has opted not to go a little rogue and buck the trend.

There is currently a 20% chance of rain during the race.

01:57 PM BST

Tyre and strategy chat

01:57 PM BST

Lando is ready

Can Lando Norris convert pole into the win? - Manaure Quintero/Getty Images

01:55 PM BST

Five-minute warning

Get ready and strap yourselves in for the Spanish Grand Prix. We are just five minutes away from lights out.

01:53 PM BST

Christian Horner speaking to Sky

It’s hotter and windier. This race will all be about whoever does the best job at protecting the tyres. They will win it.

On Friday, the cars looked very close. Anything can happen today.

01:53 PM BST

The thoughts of Max Verstappen

You always naturally want to start first and get a couple of extra metres but it is a long way to Turn One.

It is not going to be where the race is decided. It is such a long race so a lot of things can happen.

01:50 PM BST

Who has the fastest car on the grid?

01:49 PM BST

McLaren CEO Zak Brown speaking to Sky

Turn One will be important because it’s hard to pass around here. The two Mercedes will be quick, so it should be a good race.

The fire yesterday hasn’t affected us on track but off the track it was a bit distracting. Everyone has been really gracious in helping us out, I just hope they don’t expect us to repay the favour on the track!

01:45 PM BST

McLaren thank emergency services

It was a chaotic day for McLaren off the track yesterday and the team have thanked all the support they have received over the las 24 hours.

01:42 PM BST

Stars in attendance

For those who are fans of the song ‘Despacito’ you will recognise the man in this photo; Luis Fonsi. ‘Despacito’ has more than eight billion views on YouTube.

Luis Fonsi is a guest of Red Bull this weekend - Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

01:39 PM BST

Carlos enjoying his home crowd

We have two Spaniards on the grid in the form of Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz. The Ferrari man is loving his time in front of his own stand:

01:34 PM BST

Constructor standings

01:30 PM BST

Driver standings ahead of the Spanish GP

01:27 PM BST

McLaren are ready

01:24 PM BST

The difference of two hundredths of a second

01:21 PM BST

Damon Hill on Sky

We thought this would be another Red Bull mop up but they admit McLaren is a better car, at least Max [Verstappen] does.

Lando [Norris] has been doing a consistent job all year and he’s always looked like a guy who can be a world champion.

He’s now got a car that could do that and is taking the fight to Max and I think Max respects that.

01:17 PM BST

Problems for Williams

Logan Sargeant was starting at the back anyway but he received a three-place penalty for impeding Lance Stroll in qualifying yesterday. We also have further news from Williams about Alex Albon:

01:13 PM BST

The thoughts of Lewis Hamilton, who starts from third

01:10 PM BST

Polesitter Lando Norris speaking to Sky

01:06 PM BST

Starting grid

01:03 PM BST

Preview

Lando Norris put together a sensational lap in qualifying yesterday to take pole position for this afternoon’s Spanish Grand Prix. He beat Max Verstappen to pole by just two hundredths of a second after what he described as the “perfect lap”. Norris secured the pole ahead of Verstappen despite the Dutchman getting a tow down the pit-straight from his teammate Sergio Perez.

“I knew for the final lap, I’ve got to go balls out and do it, you know?” Norris said. “And that little bit I was needing to get out of Max I managed to get. So I’m happy the risks paid off, and for all of it to come together when I needed it most was great.”

When I looked at the data after Q1, Q2, I was losing probably a tenth and a half, almost two tenths, to Max just in two corners. And that was just the two corners where I was least comfortable.

“But it was just about kind of committing and hoping I came out on the other side in one piece. And for that final lap, that’s exactly what I needed to do, and it’s exactly what I did.”

Can Lando Norris secure his second race win this afternoon in Barcelona? - Clive Rose/Getty Images

“I said at the beginning of the season we were going to win and we were going to fight against Red Bull and that they weren’t going to dominate like they had done, and it’s turned out exactly to be that, which is I think good for everyone, including everyone watching.”

This is Norris’ second pole after Sochi in 2021 and he will be hoping to claim his second win in F1 after securing his first in Miami last month. It had been a worrying start to the day yesterday for McLaren after a fire in their hospitality area broke out before final practice. One member of staff had to go to hospital but was later released with McLaren CEO Zak Brown confirming that everyone was fine.

Lewis Hamilton will start third, ahead of his teammate George Russell. The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will start on the third row of the grid. After having his first lap in Q3 deleted for track limits, Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri messed up his final lap right at the end which left him at the bottom of the top ten despite the pace of the McLaren. He will be promoted to ninth after Perez’s three-place grid penalty is applied. It was a better weekend for Alpine, who have experienced a miserable season on and off the track. Both Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon made it into the top ten, starting seventh and eighth respectively.

Play The Telegraph’s brilliant range of Puzzles - and feel brighter every day. Train your brain and boost your mood with PlusWord, the Mini Crossword, the fearsome Killer Sudoku and even the classic Cryptic Crossword.