McLaren’s VSC pit call scrutinized after Norris loses Madrid win
Multiple outlets focused on how the virtual safety car shaped Lando Norris’s defeat in Madrid, with debate over whether McLaren could have avoided the outcome. Andrea Stella said overtaking was too difficult at the new street circuit for Norris to recover the lead.
Lando Norris started from pole for the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid and built a lead of about six seconds over the opening 12 laps at the new street circuit. According to McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, that gap then worked against Norris when the virtual safety car was deployed, because he was too far ahead to make a pit stop at that moment.
Formula1.com highlighted Jolyon Palmer’s view that McLaren’s decision to pit Norris after the VSC did not make sense and only confirmed the loss of the race. Motorsport.com reported Stella’s assessment that overtaking at the Madring was too difficult for Norris to fight back and win.
The Race framed the story around whether Norris was simply unlucky because of the VSC or whether McLaren still had a chance to preserve the victory. Across the coverage, the key focus was on how the timing of the VSC and McLaren’s response shaped the result.
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