Lando Norris voiced his frustration with Formula 1’s red flag tire rule after finishing behind Max Verstappen at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, stating that the result was simply a matter of “just luck” rather than skill.
The race took a critical turn when Norris and George Russell, who were leading, decided to pit for fresh intermediate tires amid heavy rain. However, a red flag was issued just before a Safety Car was deployed due to Franco Colapinto’s crash, benefiting Esteban Ocon, Verstappen, and Pierre Gasly, who chose to remain on track.
Under F1 regulations, drivers can change tires for free when a red flag is waved, which allowed the Alpines and Verstappen to leapfrog several positions.
In a post-race interview with F1 TV, Norris expressed his disappointment with how the situation unfolded:
“You can change the tyres under the red flag,” he said. “It’s what the others did. Just unlucky. Unfortunate, sometimes it goes your way. Nothing we did wrong. I don’t care what people say.”
He underscored that staying out on track was not the best decision and argued that the red flag should not have been issued:
“It shouldn’t have been red-flagged, and there was the crash in the end which caused the red – that’s life sometimes. You take a gamble, it’s paid off for them. It’s not talent, it’s just luck. A bit unlucky, that’s all.”
After the second Safety Car, Norris’s race worsened as he was passed by Charles Leclerc and ultimately finished sixth, trailing Verstappen, who took the victory.
Reflecting on his performance, Norris admitted to making mistakes that affected his result:
“I still made a couple of mistakes. I had cars on my left, on my right, I locked the rears and went off. I lost two positions.”
Despite the challenges, Norris is determined to stay positive moving forward:
“A little bit unfortunate there. My own fault. Not a perfect race for me. I think, no matter what, fourth was the best anyone could do of the people who didn’t box and get unlucky. Otherwise, going to keep our heads down.”