Norris acknowledges ‘tough’ time after title hopes faded

Lando Norris admits he had a tough week after the previous race in Brazil knowing the Formula 1 drivers’ championship can be won by Max Verstappen at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

McLaren’s form had enabled Norris to close on Verstappen in the standings heading into the race in Sao Paulo, with victory in the Sprint leaving the pair separated by 44 points. However, Verstappen’s victory in the wet, ahead of Norris in sixth, has left the McLaren driver needed to outscore the Dutchman by three points to stop the title being won in Las Vegas.

“It's a tough one,” Norris said. “Not a lot has changed. Honestly, I kind of know the position I'm in, and probably I have less to lose now. Post-Brazil was a tough one for me, because it was the first moment, realistically, when I'm like, it's tough to achieve first position now.

“We were on such a good run of form, little by little. It's hard to get any big points on Max, because he didn't have any bad races. But it was a tough week because things just didn't go our way, and my real fight for the championship was slimmed by the biggest margin of almost the whole year.

“But it doesn't change my approach. My approach has been the right approach for the last few weekends -- I've been performing well. I've been doing a good job. So from my side, I need to not change anything, but I think I can probably just go out and enjoy a little bit more.”

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Norris reiterated his belief that it was the lucky timing of a red flag that cost him a chance of a better result that would have kept the championship fight closer in Interlagos, rather than any mistakes McLaren made.

“You have to learn to accept it," he said. "I think what made Brazil tough was two things. One was for something like this to happen so late in the season. I think when it's earlier in the season, it's like it's more ‘so be it’ and you just see what happens later on. But this was a defining moment for the championship. The doors are almost shut.

“For a week I was pretty down after Brazil because I had that realization that things are pretty much out of my control now, not within reach necessarily. That's a tough realization, when your hopes and your belief is so high, for it to get knocked down so much all of a sudden -- pretty demoralizing. You learn to accept that. That's life.

“I admitted in Miami that I was lucky to get the win with the safety car, and that's the strategy you play. I think Brazil was still a bit more luck of the trade, but that is Formula 1. That's racing. I've not complained about it. Luck can be on your side, it can be on other people's side. That's life. So I don't mind. One day it will go your way, the next it won’t.”