Norris: P2 best we can hope for with Verstappen F1 dominance
Lando Norris called his second place at the Brazilian Grand Prix as “as good as we can get” after Max Verstappen stormed to a 17th victory of the season at Interlagos.
The grid had to overcome a red flag on lap one – where a number of cars collided – and severe tyre degradation in South America as the World Champion elect finished ahead of Brit Norris and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who beat Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez in a drag race for the chequered flag.
“[It was] very good, it couldn’t have gone much better,” McLaren’s Norris said. “We had good pace and a better start in the beginning – to go from sixth to second – which was a nice surprise. P2 is as good as we can get nowadays.
“[There was] not really [a chance at the win], there are little bits but Max has an answer to everything which is a shame.”
Alonso’s teammate Lance Stroll finished fifth with Carlos Sainz sixth – his Ferrari companion Charles Leclerc crashed on the formation lap ahead of the race.
Pierre Gasly was seventh with Lewis Hamilton eighth – Mercedes’ George Russell retired – Yuki Tsunoda ninth and Esteban Ocon completed the top 10.
“The starts were very important today then the race was about management. We created a bit of a gap and that was strong,” Verstappen said.
“It all looked quite good but your focus needs to be there, it worked out well today.”
The paddock heads to Las Vegas in two weeks with the race set for Saturday night with a 10pm lights out in the famous city.
The season ends at the end of the month in Abu Dhabi.