Every time mistakes cost Lando Norris points in 2024 F1 title fight as Max Verstappen wins fourth championship

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Lando Norris emerged as a Formula 1 title contender in 2024 but has lost out to Max Verstappen after a raft of errors cost the McLaren driver points in the championship.

The Briton kicked off the 2024 campaign without any wins to his name over five years on the Formula 1 grid. But the continued progress that McLaren have made since the 2023 Austrian GP saw Norris win his first Grand Prix in Miami and also his first F1 Sprint event in Sao Paulo.

Team orders saw Oscar Piastri gift Norris the Sprint win in Brazil as McLaren tried to keep his title bid alive. But the 25-year-old’s disappointing run from pole position in the Sao Paulo GP gifted Verstappen match point, and the Red Bull driver has cashed it in at the Las Vegas GP.

Finishing in fifth place was enough for Red Bull to see Verstappen win his fourth drivers’ title at the 2024 Las Vegas GP. The Dutchman has now matched Sebastian Vettel’s feat from 2010 to 2013 in winning four championships in succession for the team from Milton Keynes.

Max Verstappen beat Lando Norris to win the 2024 drivers’ title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix

Verstappen won his fourth drivers’ title at the Las Vegas GP as the Red Bull racer left Sin City with a 63-point advantage over Norris. The McLaren ace could only finish the race in P6, so will aim to launch another title bid in the last year of the current F1 regulations next season.

A major reason why Verstappen beat Norris to the 2024 drivers’ championship was the huge points lead the 27-year-old created over the first five rounds as Red Bull dominated from the off. He even scored 110 points despite a brake issue forcing Verstappen to retire in Australia.

READ MORE: The best moments of Max Verstappen’s career in Formula 1

His rear brakes sticking on in Melbourne ended Verstappen’s bid to equal his own record run of 10 straight Grand Prix wins. Were it not for the Dutchman’s retirement, he may have won the drivers’ championship after Verstappen charged from P17 to win the 2024 Sao Paulo GP.

Norris and McLaren will know him only scoring 58 points during the first five rounds always made a title bid in 2024 unlikely. But the Bristol-born driver and Woking crew will also know they left a lot of points on the table in 2024 after Norris and McLaren made costly mistakes.

So, with that in mind, F1 Oversteer looks back at every time mistakes from Norris and errors by McLaren cost the Briton points and, ultimately, the 2024 F1 drivers’ title to Verstappen…

Lando Norris blew pole position for the F1 Sprint at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix

McLaren really turned a corner with the performance of their 2024 car when Norris became a Grand Prix winner for the first time in Miami. But before the Briton even benefitted from a safety car at Hard Rock Stadium, Norris got a chance to become a Sprint winner in Shanghai.

Norris blitzed the field in Sprint Qualifying for the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix in wet conditions to claim pole position by 1.261 seconds to seven-time F1 champion, Lewis Hamilton. But his bid for a first Sprint victory was off the table just as quickly when the five red lights went on.

In the heavy rain, no one could match the McLaren pilot in Sprint Qualifying. But he showed inexperience at the start of the 19-lap race as Hamilton ran Norris wide to lead the F1 Sprint in China. Norris tried to hang on around the outside at Turn 2 and fell back to seventh place.

Verstappen would ultimately rise through from fourth on the grid to win the F1 Sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix ahead of Hamilton by 13.043 seconds. Norris, meanwhile, could only get back to P6 before the chequered flag to record five fewer points than his eventual title rival.

Lando Norris left it too late to beat Max Verstappen in the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

Norris almost went from having zero Grand Prix wins to his name to two in as many races at the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. But he left it just too late to beat Verstappen to win at Imola, with the Red Bull racer withstanding late pressure to pip the McLaren pilot by 0.725s.

Verstappen had Norris covered off the grid after they locked out the front row at Imola. The Dutchman also built a lead of around seven seconds whilst Charles Leclerc applied pressure. But as Verstappen and the Ferrari driver’s hard tyres started to fade, Norris found his speed.

Over the final 13 laps of the 2024 Emilia Romagna GP, Norris continually ate chunks of time out of Verstappen’s lead. But the Red Bull star managed to withstand his chase for just long enough to keep Norris out of DRS range until the final lap and avoid any potential overtake.

Had Norris found his pace even one lap sooner, the McLaren racer might have won the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with Verstappen potentially a sitting duck at Turn 1 with the help of DRS around Imola. Instead, Verstappen avoided a possible 14-point swing in the title race.

McLaren’s strategy gamble backfired for Lando Norris at the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix

Even Norris admitted McLaren threw away a chance to win the Canadian Grand Prix in 2024 with their strategy gamble. Heavy rain in the early phase of the race did not suit the MCL38, but the Briton found pace to threaten Verstappen and George Russell as the track dried out.

Norris also took the lead of the Canadian GP but lost out when Verstappen and Russell both pitted behind the safety car for Logan Sargeant’s stricken Williams. Race control neutralised the action right as Norris approached pit entry, so he had to wait an extra lap before pitting.

But speaking after the Canadian GP, Norris admitted that he felt McLaren should have been ready to stop when Sargeant crashed. The American’s car was in a position that was always likely to require a safety car if Sargeant was unable to recover from spinning out at Turn 4.

Still, Norris got another chance to lead the Canadian GP when Red Bull and Mercedes pitted Verstappen and Russell for slick tyres at the end of Lap 45. But Norris emerged right behind the Dutchman when he exited the pit lane after the following lap and did not have the pace.

Lando Norris blew pole position as Max Verstappen won the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix

Verstappen had to wait until the Sao Paulo GP to win another Grand Prix after his victory in Spain during the 2024 season. But Norris should have likely won at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Instead, the McLaren driver blew pole position and had to settle for second spot.

Norris denied his eventual title rival by just 0.020s in qualifying for the 2024 Spanish GP. But the Briton got an inferior launch to let Verstappen draw level, and even lost out to Russell as the Mercedes driver shot around the outside into Turn 1 to steal the lead with a double tow.

READ MORE: The best moments of Lando Norris’ career in Formula 1

Verstappen took full advantage of Russell’s inferior race pace once the Red Bull star took the lead on Lap 3 of 66. He even built an ultimately decisive lead as Norris failed to overtake his compatriot before Russell pitted on L15. Norris even fell to fifth place once he pitted on L27.

Having a 12-lap tyre offset on Russell meant Norris easily breezed through to regain second place on Lap 35. But, by then, he trailed Verstappen by 9.452 seconds and could only get to within 2.219s of the Dutchman by the chequered flag as Norris rued his poor start in Spain.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris crashed at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix

Verstappen would gain 10 points on Norris at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix but should have lost at least seven to the McLaren driver. The pair engaged in another fight for a race win at the Red Bull Ring in June but contact on Lap 64 of 71 would hand the victory over to Russell.

Mercedes and Russell secured their first win since the Briton’s debut victory at the 2022 Sao Paulo GP as he picked up the pieces from Verstappen and Norris crashing in the Austrian GP. While the contact was not Norris’ fault, the McLaren ace may have possibly avoided a crash.

Verstappen is renowned for flirting with the rules when racing wheel-to-wheel as he cannot accept being beaten. So, when Norris positioned his car on the outside at Turn 3 to get a run with DRS into T4, Verstappen squeezed the McLaren ace out to the point they made contact.

Norris did not need to try the overtake on the outside into T3 as he would have likely sailed by Verstappen into T4. Instead, the Briton – who already had a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits – sustained a puncture, and would retire once back in McLaren’s box.

Verstappen also sustained a puncture from the contact with Norris but made it back to Red Bull’s box for a new set of soft tyres, on which the Dutchman claimed the extra point for the fastest lap. He also finished in P5, despite receiving a 10-second time penalty for their crash.

McLaren’s soft tyre call cost Lando Norris his chance to win the 2024 British Grand Prix

Like in Canada, another mistake from McLaren’s strategy team cost Norris a chance to win at the 2024 British Grand Prix. The Bristol-born pilot, who grew up in Glastonbury, was flying at Silverstone when rain arrived at his home round. But McLaren blew the return to slick tyres.

Norris had a tidy lead over Hamilton and an even bigger gap to Verstappen before Mercedes and Red Bull pitted their pilots first to fit the soft and hard compound Pirelli tyres on Lap 39 of 52. But McLaren leaving Norris out an extra lap before fitting soft tyres cost him the lead.

Hamilton comfortably cleared Norris, who even ran deep into his box. Verstappen also made light work of overtaking the home favourite on Lap 48 as McLaren’s decision to fit soft tyres onto Norris’ car instead of the hards like Red Bull favoured backfired and cost their driver P2.

Lando Norris mismanaged McLaren’s team order fiasco at the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix

Norris and McLaren were each partly responsible for his inability to win the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix as teammate Piastri became a feature race winner for the first time in Formula 1. The Woking crew locked out the front row of the grid in Budapest but wasted their position.

With McLaren still not believing that Norris was in a title fight against Verstappen, the team let Piastri challenge his more experienced partner. The Australian also got the superior start to claim the inside line for T1 and the race lead, before then managing his margin to Norris.

READ MORE: Five times team orders have decided the result of a Grand Prix in Formula 1

Seldom did Norris look able to get close enough to mount a move on Piastri before McLaren turned their focus to Hamilton behind. The Woking crew made a decisive decision on Lap 45 of 70 to pit Norris before Piastri, who stopped on L48, to cover the undercut from Hamilton.

But by stopping Norris first, McLaren also shuffled the Briton ahead of Piastri when they did not need to. Hamilton never got close enough to his compatriot to truly threaten the place. So, McLaren asked Norris to give the lead of the Hungarian GP back to Piastri to make it fair.

With the win on the cards, and now being the faster McLaren driver, Norris proved loath to let Piastri back through as he scuppered clear. The Melbourne native would not get close to his teammate as McLaren begged Norris to let Piastri through until he eventually did on L68.

Norris made it clear that he was giving Piastri the win at the Hungarian GP by moving aside into T1 and ceding a lead of more than five seconds. But had the Briton given the lead back to Piastri after the Australian’s pit stop, then Norris may have challenged for an honest win.

Lando Norris and McLaren committed costly errors in the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix

Rain derailed Norris and Piastri’s chance to fight for pole position at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix as McLaren opted for a dry set-up in favour of the race. It left the Woking giants P4 and P5 on the grid, and Norris’ race unravelled further at just the first corner when he ran wide.

Norris was overly cautious with Piastri on his inside into La Source, so he kept out wide but dipped his left-hand tyres into the gravel on the exit. It left the Bristol native falling down to P7, and Norris later lacked the pace with hard tyres to overtake Verstappen in a fight for P5.

The hard compound Pirelli rubber worked a treat for Piastri, though, as he charged past the Ferrari of Leclerc on Lap 36 of 44 to edge into third place. He still had a 5.286-second gap to Hamilton in P2 and a further 4.350s gap to Russell in the lead but Piastri rapidly closed in.

Piastri’s charge came slightly too late to attempt a move on Hamilton, who adopted the win at the Belgian GP after Russell was disqualified. But if the race had been just one lap longer, the McLaren driver may have shot past Hamilton and Piastri would have adopted the glory.

All the while, Norris settled for a fifth-place finish in the 2024 Belgian GP tucked just behind Verstappen by 0.624s at the chequered flag. Had it not been for the Briton’s early off at T1 on Lap 1, then Norris may have been the McLaren driver threatening to take the win at Spa.

McLaren’s refusal to use team orders likely cost Lando Norris the win at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix

Despite Norris’ dominant win by 22.896s to Verstappen at the Dutch Grand Prix and leading Piastri in locking out the front row at the Italian Grand Prix, McLaren hit Monza still refusing to issue team orders. But their refusal to step in cost not just Norris but also the team a win.

Piastri took full advantage of the slipstream through Curva Grande to pull a move on Norris around the outside at Variante della Roggia on the opening lap. The move likely caught the Briton by surprise and cost him second place as Leclerc shuffled through with Norris off line.

Leclerc splitting the McLarens also meant Norris and Piastri could not work together to seal a win at the Italian GP. Norris even graining his tyres trying to stay close to the Ferrari driver and Piastri also forced McLaren to use a two-stop strategy and let Leclerc try a one-stopper.

Piastri also did not believe McLaren could look after their tyres well enough to do a one-stop strategy at Monza. But Leclerc kept just enough life in his rubber to win by 2.664s to Piastri and held a 6.153s margin over Norris, who settled for third when the glory was his to lose.

Lando Norris lost out big with a yellow flag in qualifying at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

The 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix should have been a great chance for Norris to take heaps of points out of Verstappen’s championship advantage as McLaren and Ferrari enjoyed a pace advantage against Red Bull. Yet a yellow flag saw Norris bow out of qualifying in Q1 in Baku.

Marshals positioned at Turn 16 incorrectly waved a yellow flag as Norris approached on his final flying lap of Q1 with Esteban Ocon limping back to Alpine’s garage with a puncture. He should have only brought out white flags as the Frenchman was moving just at a low speed.

Norris seeing a yellow flag clearly distracted him as the Briton ran deep exiting Turn 16 and ruined his chance to improve. While the McLaren driver correctly slowed before the corner, he could still have improved enough to potentially reach Q2 without the mistake on the exit.

It all combined to leave Norris qualifying in P17 for the Azerbaijan GP, albeit starting in P15, yet the Briton still had great speed. His race pace was superb and Norris soared through the order to finish in P4 – even overtaking Verstappen on Lap 49 of 51 for what was sixth place.

Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez crashing out of the Azerbaijan GP on the penultimate lap while fighting for the podium places promoted Norris further up the order. But without a mistake-ridden qualifying, Norris might have won as Piastri passed Leclerc to win the Azerbaijan GP.

Lando Norris’ off-track overtake on Max Verstappen in the 2024 United States Grand Prix

McLaren must hold their hands up and accept they cost Norris three points that Verstappen instead gained in the 2024 United States Grand Prix. The Woking outfit’s error of judgement to tell Norris he overtook Verstappen into Turn 12 on Lap 52 of 56 ultimately cost him third.

The Briton must even accept he cost himself a chance to score more points when Norris left Verstappen space at the start of the US Grand Prix that the Dutchman took full use of to run his title rival off exiting Turn 1. The stewards did not intervene, despite Norris slipping to P4.

How the standards handled their fight on Lap 52 even proved controversial as Norris earned a five-second time penalty for overtaking Verstappen off the road in the US Grand Prix, even though the McLaren driver was only outside of the track as his Red Bull rival forced him off.

Verstappen refused to be beaten despite Norris getting ahead of his title rival before braking for T12 with the help of DRS. So, the Dutchman simply eased off the brakes and forced them both off. Yet F1’s racing guidelines let Verstappen leave the track and also get an advantage.

Norris floored the throttle to beat Verstappen into T13, believing he had justly overtaken his rival. McLaren also believed he had completed a legal move before being forced off. So, they told Norris to retain the place, but it drew a penalty that gave Verstappen P3 back by 0.942s.

Lando Norris blew pole position as Max Verstappen won the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix

Despite all the mistakes and errors that Norris and McLaren committed throughout the 2024 season and his title fight with Verstappen, no race stains the Briton’s campaign more so than the Sao Paulo GP. It should have been the event that made his season, instead it ruined it all.

McLaren did their part by issuing team orders for Piastri to gift Norris the Sprint win in Brazil to take points out of Verstappen’s lead. The Briton then delivered a superb pole position lap in the wet, delayed Sunday Q3 to punish Verstappen for qualifying P12 for the Sao Paulo GP.

Red flags for Lance Stroll crashing in Q2 denied Verstappen a chance to improve his lap and started the Sao Paulo GP from P17 after also receiving a five-place grid penalty after Red Bull changed parts of his engine. But it proved inconsequential, as Verstappen still won the race.

Unlike in qualifying, a red flag made Verstappen’s Sao Paulo GP as he made a free change of tyres after Franco Colapinto crashed behind the safety car. Unlike McLaren who pitted Norris on Lap 29 – two before the SC – Red Bull left Verstappen out and so did the two Alpine stars.

Norris had made good use of his fresh intermediate tyres to re-pass Russell into Descida do Lago for the lead of the Sao Paulo GP on Lap 30. The Briton’s slow start had handed over P1 on L1 to his compatriot. But Norris’ mistakes in Sao Paulo were not over whilst he ran in P4.

With Verstappen hounding Ocon for the race lead, Norris knew he had to get through Pierre Gasly and follow his title rival. But the Briton threw his car off the road on L34 of 69, missing the braking point into T4 to once again slip behind Russell and then run off at Turn 1 on L43.

Norris going deep at Turn 1 and having to use the run-off area for the Senna S saw him drop behind Leclerc and Piastri to run in seventh with 26 laps of the Sao Paulo GP left. It was also at this moment that Verstappen shot past Ocon into T1 for the lead of the race at Interlagos.

Every point Lando Norris lost through errors in 2024

So, mistakes and errors altogether cost Norris a potential 119 bonus points, with Verstappen also scoring an extra 42, which may have seen the McLaren driver win the 2024 title. That is set on Norris winning the Sprint in China plus the races in Austria and Brazil, not Verstappen.