In a race that will go down in history for Max Verstappen’s first success in the riders’ championship, the GP of Abu Dhabi did not concede to the team McLaren to be able to celebrate a difficult goal to achieve: thanks to 7th place of Lando Norris and the 12 ° by Daniel Ricciardo, the English team failed to finish third in the constructors’ championship, ending up behind a Ferrari that, right in Yas Marina, greeted 2021 with the podium of Carlos Sainz, until last year a member of the Woking family.
Regardless of the final result, a season marked by a return to victory after nine years of absence ends for the British team. Specifically, the championship just ended will in fact be remembered for the success achieved by Ricciardo in Monza, in that same Italian GP that saw the McLaren double take place, with the second place of Norris. The Australian himself commented on the outcome of the last test in Abu Dhabi, which ended with the bitterness of a placement outside the points: “We recovered a position on the first lap – has explained – that put us in the fight with the Alpines. I felt I had a little more pace than them, but honestly they were very difficult to overtake. We tried to resist, but with the Virtual Safety Car we lost positions. I think that, with no one in front, I would have had a little more pace, which I was unable to do because of my position. This is what happens when you qualify a little too far behind. One thing I want to improve next year is the Saturday performance, which would make Sundays a little easier. Thanks to the team for their hard work this year. We had some fantastic moments: Monza was the highlight, and I can’t wait to implement the progress we made in 2021. Even before that, I want to go home, recharge my batteries and prepare to go back to fight for Next year”.
Disappointing result also for Lando Norris, seventh at the finish despite the excellent performance in qualifying, which had rewarded him with third place from the starting grid: “I think he had a good race overall – he analyzed – I lost a bit at the start, positioning the car incorrectly with respect to where I should have been. After that, the race was going very well, I was keeping up with Ferrari, the pace was pretty strong, but then a puncture occurred which took us out of the race, losing points and positions because of that. It was just unlucky, but the team did a great job today. I feel like I’ve driven a solid race, albeit, I repeat, once again unfortunate. There is nothing we could have done, but I think we should still be happy with how we finished the season. We weren’t fast enough at times, but that’s not due to a lack of effort. Thanks to the whole team for all their hard work. They have been incredible all season. We still have a couple of days of testing before the break, but it will soon be time for a well deserved stop and a reset before next year ”.
#Norris #unlucky #race #FormulaPassionit