The Qatar Grand Prix was meant to be a much better weekend than it turned out to be for Lando Norris. But the driver who brought the fight to Max Verstappen for the WDC only barely finished inside the points at Lusail.

It all comes down to an error on the part of the McLaren driver; Norris was slapped with a massive penalty for failing to slow down for a briefly displayed yellow flag.

“I’ve let the team down,” says Lando Norris

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

A poor start from polesitter George Russell saw Max Verstappen and Lando Norris squeeze through to the first two positions after the green flag at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Though Verstappen quickly built up an impressive gap, Norris had remained just on his tail. The chaos of the race seemed to imply that, at some point, he could have a chance at passing for the lead.

But partway through the race, the Williams of Alex Albon lost its mirror, which landed in the middle of the front straight. A yellow flag waved briefly in anticipation of the obstacle — and Norris seemingly failed to slow down.

The yellow flashed quickly, but it lasted just long enough for leader Max Verstappen to report the incident to his team. Race control then leaped into action investigating the matter, and decided to issue Norris with a 10-second stop-and-go penalty.

That penalty is the harshest that the FIA can levy in race conditions, with only a disqualification being more damaging. Norris was required to serve the penalty within two laps of it being served, and he quickly pulled into the pits.

The move was a disaster. The McLaren driver dropped from second in the running to 15th, the final car still running. Though he was able to wend his way back up to 10th and score a point, it was ultimately a dismal result for a car that could have won the race.

Speaking to media, including PlanetF1.com, after the race, Norris admitted that he did not understand what the penalty was for, and that he had yet to speak to anyone from the team about what had happened.

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Asked for his reaction, Norris admitted that he was, “Disappointed, of course. I’ve let the team down.

“The team gave me a great car today, easily the quickest out there, and I f*cked it up.”

It’s a harsh assessment from Norris, who seemed almost in disbelief.

“I don’t know what I did wrong,” he said to media.

“You know, I’m not an idiot. If there’s a yellow flag, I know I need to slow down. That’s rule number one, you learn in go-karts.

“For some reason I didn’t do that today because I’ve not seen it or missed it or something, so I have to take it on the chin.

“They think I’ve done something wrong; I must have done something wrong. I can only apologize for the rest of the year to the team.”

Though he admitted to being disappointed and also confused, Norris did state that he felt the penalty was ‘fair.’

“If I did what they said I did wrong, then good on them for giving the correct penalty.”

He also offered plaudits to ultimate race winner Max Verstappen; Norris stated that he would have also reported a competitor for failing to slow adequately for a yellow flag.

Norris’ penalty and subsequent 10th-place finishing position meant that McLaren failed to secure the World Constructors’ Championship in Qatar.

The battle will go down to the wire in Abu Dhabi, where McLaren will start the weekend with just a 21-point buffer over the second-placed Scuderia Ferrari.

Unfortunately, Norris’ outlook for next weekend is bleak.

“I don’t think it will be as good as today, so it’s a massive opportunity lost,” he said of his car’s performance in Abu Dhabi.

“I’ve disappointed the whole team, and the only thing I care about is my team.”

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