McLaren told issue that could ‘get in’ Lando Norris’ head by Martin Brundle

Follow us on Google Discover

Although Lando Norris put in an impressive display during the Dutch Grand Prix, there was one stand-out issue that plagued McLaren.

Starts have been a major issue for Norris throughout his F1 career, with the latest being the sixth time he has failed to defend his lead after starting from pole position.

Norris blamed his poor start in Barcelona for the reason why he lost out to Max Verstappen, then during the summer break he claimed that starts were the thing he wanted to improve the most.

At the race in Zandvoort, Norris appeared to have the same reaction time as Verstappen to the five lights being extinguished, but the second phase is where he lost time on the run down to Tarzan corner.

Martin Brundle explains ‘trouble’ Lando Norris faces with race starts

McLaren blamed a software glitch for Norris’ poor getaway in the Hungarian Grand Prix, while it appears Oscar Piastri also suffered the same problem at Zandvoort.

Team principal Andrea Stella blamed their starts for the reason why Piastri was unable to achieve a one-two in the Dutch GP for the team, as it meant he was caught up in a lot of traffic midway through the race.

Martin Brundle believes McLaren will need to get on top of their poor race starts when discussing it in his Sky Sports column, otherwise it could impact Norris psychologically later in the season.

“The trouble is with starts – and we know it’s been [an] issue with him from pole on the first lap – it gets in your head,” Brundle said. “And you’ve lost that start on Saturday night, let alone Sunday afternoon.”

Lando Norris had enough pace to recover from bad start in Zandvoort

Despite his poor start, Norris was able to recover after the first 18 laps and overtake Verstappen with the aid of DRS before settling into his most dominant victory yet.

Brundle noted that Norris was ‘metronomic’ when commentating on the race, and praised him for not ‘losing his head’ after suffering the bad start.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from height and parents to celebration

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer noted one thing that he ‘loved’ about Norris’ race, which was his ability to save up his battery in the final four laps and go for the fastest lap.

Norris did not inform his McLaren team that he was going for a fast lap attempt, knowing that they would likely push back on it due to the risks.

In doing so, he took away a maximum of 26 points and showed his hunger for taking the championship fight to Verstappen and Red Bull.