Lando Norris was the only driver during the Spanish GP who could not benefit from a shorter pit stop under the Virtual Safety Car (VSC). The Brit was leading the race at the moment Lance Stroll retired. However, Norris had already passed the pit lane when the race control decided to switch to the VSC. The McLaren driver was thus the only one who could not make a shortened pit stop: “I lost about twenty seconds to the entire starting grid.”
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Lando Norris was leading the race until the timing of the virtual safety car spoiled things. The Brit had already passed the entrance to the pit lane when the race control decided to deploy a virtual safety car following Lance Stroll’s retirement. Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen, starting from second and third place, were then able to make a cheap pit stop. When Norris arrived at the pits a lap later, the VSC had already been lifted.
Norris then rejoined the track in fourth place and finished the race in third. For the Brit, it was bitter to miss out on the win like this. “I had already passed the pit lane, so I had to discuss it with the team, but it’s not a gamble, so I was just unlucky,” Norris told Sky Sports F1 afterwards. “I was the only one on the entire starting grid who didn’t get a shortened pit stop, so I lost twenty seconds to the entire starting grid. That was out of my control. It’s a rule. It shouldn’t decide a race.”
‘That was just unfair’
According to Norris, the best driver in a race is not rewarded this way. “A race should be won by the one who delivers the best performance,” said the McLaren driver. “Who maybe takes a risk by staying out longer between two pit stops, staying in a stint longer, and maybe you get a safety car later, and then such things can help, because you know that’s one of the big factors. But that everyone gets a free pit stop during the VSC, and I get nothing at all, that’s just unfair, but it has happened before.”
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The reigning world champion explains how this has already been a discussion point among drivers. “We have talked about this before during the drivers’ briefing, where we said they should leave it at least a full lap outside, so it’s equal for everyone,” said Norris. “I was the only one who couldn’t benefit from it, and I lost about 20 seconds of race time. It shouldn’t go like that.”
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