From the highs of his Austrian podium to the lows of Hungary, Lando Norris concedes he was responsible for the latter after making the worst start of his life.
McLaren was up at the front of the midfield battle at the two Austrian races but it was a very different story at the Hungaroring last weekend.
Both Norris and his team-mate Carlos Sainz struggled to find their previous qualifying form, lining up eighth and nine on a damp track.
Norris made an awful start and immediately lost positions, falling all the way down to 14th by the end the first lap.
A decision to wait a lap before swapping his intermediate tyres for slicks also cost him with the Brit having an afternoon to forget.
There was one or two highs as he fought Charles Leclerc for position and made yet another last lap pass, this time on Esteban Ocon.
The future looks [email protected]_Leclerc ⚔️ @LandoNorris#HungarianGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/0U6fZv0FNP
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 20, 2020
He finished the race down in 13th place, his first point-less Sunday of the season.
“I lost out at the start,” the Brit explained to the official F1 website.
“The team did a good job… but I was the one who let down the team, in terms of probably getting the worst start I ever got in my life.
“Why was that? Because I just wanted to go forward, and when you try and go forward in the wet, you go backwards. It’s as simple as that.
“I got a bit eager with the [throttle] pedal and I just screwed everything up.
“It’s such a difficult track to overtake on I couldn’t do anything more after that.
“I tried coming back but P13 was the best I could do.”
However, the 20-year-old then went a long way towards redeeming himself later in the day.
While other drivers hopped into their planes to head back home, Norris stuck around to help his McLaren mechanics dismantle his car.
This is just one reason why we'd love to see @LandoNorris win a #F1 World Championship.
What a lad! https://t.co/zKSdYq5KAU
— Planet F1 (@Planet_F1) July 20, 2020
He told Motorsport.com that it was his way to helping his mechanics as they are the ones bearing the full brunt of the triple headers.
“Honestly, it is tougher for the engineers and the mechanics because they’re the guys and girls who spend the most time at the track working and travelling,”he said.
“It’s more of a kind of trying to look after them and keep them in good condition: especially the mechanics who are doing the pit stops and so on. They also have a big impact on performance.
“They also are the guys who can bring us overtakes and if you have good pitstops it can gain us positions and things like that.
“So, it’s trying to keep everyone in the best shape possible. For me, I’m fine, but it’s more of a question for them and I’m trying to look after them and keep them in the best condition.”
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