The ‘howler of a mistake’ made by Lando Norris in title fight with Max Verstappen

Nigel Mansell has praised McLaren for their season so far, but acknowledged Lando Norris dropped points with a “howler of a mistake” by trying to overtake Max Verstappen around the outside in Austria.

The two were fighting for the race lead in the closing stages but came into contact at the Turn 3 hairpin, causing a puncture for both drivers and, while Verstappen was able to recover to finish fifth, Norris retired from the race.

Nigel Mansell: Lando Norris made ‘howler of a mistake’ in Austria fighting for the lead

That moment between the two title rivals was one of the key flashpoints of the season so far, the culmination of a thrilling battle at the Red Bull Ring after Norris had tried several times to take the lead of the race.

On lap 64, Verstappen moved to the inside at Turn 3 to defend the apex, Norris took the racing line on the outside and the pair touched wheels, with both drivers damaged in the process.

With the McLaren driver having been forced to retire, he lost 10 points to Verstappen on a day when he could have taken 25 back with him for a race victory – though given the context of the race, 1992 World Champion Mansell believes the title battle is still all to play for, but that potential points swing may come to hurt the Briton later this season.

“Well, anything can happen. The season’s not over until you go past the chequered flag on the last race. I’ve got to say Lando was extremely unlucky in Baku,” Mansell said when asked on his thoughts on the title race to Top Offshore Sportsbook .

“Lando had a very unfortunate situation happen to him, which was not his fault or the team’s fault. But then to recover like he did in the race was fantastic.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri head-to-head in F1 2024

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“I think getting fourth or so would have been sixth, but then Red Bull and Ferrari decided to come together on the last but one lap.

“But it was a great race for McLaren and what a fantastic job they’re doing. I think he can overhaul Max because Red Bull have had fantastic reliability so far and Max only has to have one retirement or problem [to let Lando in].

“I think the other very unfortunate thing is that Lando made the mistake of trying to overtake Verstappen on the outside in Austria.

“Because you can’t overtake a several time World Champion on the outside, and that race was his to win, and he could be 25 points even closer now.

“So I still think there’s a great chance for him to have a good go at the championship.”

When asked if McLaren had made a mistake in not backing Norris over team-mate Oscar Piastri sooner in the title race, Mansell added: “No, not really, because both drivers early on in the season made mistakes.

“I mean, the howler of a mistake in Austria that Lando made was basically 25, 26 points. So, you know, you can argue all sorts of different things.

“I think McLaren have acted incredibly professionally for both drivers. They’ve done a stunning job for them and themselves and they’re to be congratulated.”

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