Qatar Grand Prix: Norris Says He Let Mclaren Down After Costly Penalty

Lando Norris said that he "let down" McLaren after a 10-second stop-and-go penalty saw him finish in 10th place at the Qatar Grand Prix. (More Motorsport News)

💛The British driver was in a fight with newly-crowned four-time world champion Max Verstappen for the race lead before the penalty, for ignoring double-waved yellow flags, dropped him to the back of the field. 

🎃Norris recovered places in the last laps to finish just inside the top 10, but the result meant that McLaren's bid to win the Constructors' Championship will now go down to the wire in the final race of 2024 in Abu Dhabi this weekend. 

𓆉“Honestly, I don’t know what I’ve done wrong at the minute. Apparently, I didn’t slow under the yellow. I’m not an idiot – if I knew there was a yellow I would have slowed down," Norris told Sky Sports after the race. 

ಞ“I don’t know if I’ve missed it or just been dumb. But, yeah, the rule is if you don’t slow down under a yellow, that’s the penalty, so it’s a fair penalty.”

ౠWhile Verstappen took the top step on the podium, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished second, with Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri in third. Ferrari, in a two-way fight with McLaren for the title, also had Carlos Sainz finishing in sixth place. 

💞It meant that McLaren will head to Abu Dhabi with a 21-point lead over Ferrari as they set their sights on a first constructors’ title since 1998.

🐼“The team gave me a great car, so I’m thankful to the team,” 25-year-old Norris said. 

💛“Disappointed that I couldn’t have done a worse job than I did and not give them the points they deserve, so I’ve made the job of the team much harder than it needs to be. The team are doing a great job but I’ve let them down.”

𝓡Norris, who had challenged Verstappen (429 points) for the world championship before the Dutchman secured the title in Las Vegas, now has 349 points in his bag - only eight more than Leclerc in third, with the duo set to battle for the individual and team honours in the season finale.