VSC procedures called into question after Norris' lost Madrid win

Lando Norris described himself as “insanely unlucky” after the Virtual Safety Car timing cost him the lead and a chance of victory at the Spanish Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver started from pole position and was leading the opening phase of the race when a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was required to clear Lance Stroll’s car after he stopped in a run-off area. Norris was exiting the final corner – beyond the pit entry – when the VSC was called, allowing Kimi Antonelli behind him to pit, while the entire field had a chance to stop before the VSC ended just as Norris approached the penultimate corner on the following lap.

“It depends how you define ‘got away’,” Norris said after finishing third. “It’s not like we did anything that made us lose it. We were just insanely unlucky. I was the only one on the whole grid, that didn’t get the chance to do the pit stop. That’s just unfortunate.

“It’s happened in races and there’s been plenty of times where I’ve gained from it in the past and times where I’ve lost from it, and it’s racing, but never when fighting for a win. So, I think it’s probably one of the first times a win has been lost simply because of it.

“But yeah, it’s frustrating, especially after the performance [in qualifying] and the performance I was putting in at the beginning of the race, and I had all race, in fact. Of course I feel like I deserved more, but the others also did a good race and I have to give credit to that too.”

Norris says the timing of a VSC or Safety Car will never be perfect, but he believes the majority of drivers feel there could be a way of applying their usage more equitably.

“It’s been brought up many times over the years by different drivers” Norris said. “I think there’s always probably some cons to doing it, but it’s tough. I’ve won from it in the past, I’ve lost from it in the past. Over the course of a season, it’s hard to know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. It probably equals out over time.

“Of course, it just hurts more, the fact that I lose a win. There’s literally nothing I could do as a driver to do a better job. Pole, led the race, and to lose it for nothing in my control is, I don’t think, how a race should be won – I hope people agree, I think people would agree. But it is racing and it’s happened, so I can’t really complain about it. I can be upset about it, but I can’t really complain about it.

“I think there are things, because we have spoken about it in the past several times, about how it can be at least covered for one lap or everyone has the opportunity to do the pit stops, or you just block the pit entry and no one can box apart from if you have a puncture or something. So, I think there’s a few things you could do to make it more simple and more fair for everyone, but that’s a bigger discussion.

“This is not something I can just ask for. I think it’s something, as a group of drivers, I think we would all want, but there’s a lot more to it. Depending on if it’s raining and there’s a VSC and you’re on slicks, does it mean you can box or not? So it’s a complicated subject. But I think as a collection of drivers, if we all talk about it, I think everyone wants the same thing, and that’s just fairness for everyone.

“Of course I’m complaining about it today. I could benefit from it next week, next time out, and I could win because of it. So, I have to take it on the chin, but I just hope it doesn’t happen to anyone again because it’s just not how you should lose a race.”

Max Verstappen benefitted from the VSC to jump Norris and finish second, but he agrees that it’s a topic the drivers will likely discuss with the FIA to see if its usage can be improved.

“I’ve also won races because of it, I’ve lost races because of it,” Verstappen said. “And yes, it is extremely painful for Lando, in that case, to lose a win. Sometimes it can be, ‘Oh, you might lose points,’ but this time it’s a win. That’s really not nice.

“But unfortunately, I think a lot of drivers have had it that, you win some, you lose some. But can it be better? Probably yes, in the future. But we’ll probably talk about it in the next briefing and see if there is anything that can be done. But unfortunately, in the past and history, it’s happened more often.”