Ross Brawn has named Lando Norris as his ‘Driver of the Day’ following the Russian Grand Prix.
The young British driver had an impeccable weekend up until a split-second decision cost him the victory.
Norris secured his first Formula One pole position after Qualifying on Saturday, and after leading most of the race the following day, the rain proved a tough mistress and sent the MCL35M on dry tyres spinning with just three laps to go.
The 21-year-old’s devastation was felt by fans and rivals across the boar, but Brawn commended his “composure” throughout the ordeal.
In his column for the official Formula One website, the Managing Director explained his driver of the day decision and said; “This is a close one. In the first half of the race, Lewis was clearly managing his race and waiting for his opportunities.
“He had a quiet first half and then it came alive in the second half. But I think for me, Lando is my Driver of the Day.
“Listening to him on the radio when the team were talking to him, his composure was impressive. He’s come on leaps and bounds in the last couple of years.
“Lando will be hurting right now. We all felt his pain when he slid off the track. It was a tragedy. I’ve been in that situation – when you need to make a big strategy call.
“I’ve won races by hanging on, I’ve lost races by hanging on. A good example is when Rubens Barrichello won the German Grand Prix in 2000 for Ferrari. We insisted on him coming in and he said ‘no way’ – and he hung on and won the race.
“Those scenarios are so difficult and in Sochi, it was especially tricky as only half the track was wet. Even with radar, no one is completely certain how wet it will be.”
Today, Lando took to social with a message for fans writing;
Head high, my time will come pic.twitter.com/Z7YUm7w8BD
— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) September 27, 2021
Speaking after the weekend, Norris said; “It wasn’t the race or the result we wanted in the end. I made a good start and we had a good first stint.
“Right at the end when the rain started, we made the call not to box and that cost us everything. We made the decision that was right at the time for the conditions at the time. It was my call, along with the information from the team, and together we need to review what we could’ve done better.
“It’s incredibly disappointing of course, because we’ve been strong all weekend and I felt comfortable with the pace and the car today. The team has done a great job and I want to thank them for all their hard work.
“Of course, the result is not a reflection of our weekend, but there are a lot of positives we can take, and now we need to analyse, reset and bounce back in Turkey.”
