Former F1 driver slams Norris' performance in Belgian Grand Prix

17:15, 28 Jul

Updated: 21:28, 28 Jul

byEstéban den Toom

Christijan Albers was not at all pleased with Lando Norris during the Belgian Grand Prix. The McLaren driver started on pole position, but he struggled in the rain. After a few turns, Oscar Piastri had already overtaken him. Former Formula 1 driver Albers thus does not spare Norris after the race at Spa-Francorchamps.

It was a rolling start after four laps were run behind the safety car. Norris crossed the line first, but he quickly lost his position as the race leader. “I thought his start was really dramatic, really bad. Yes, if you arrive at the bus stop and you have Piastri breathing down your neck, then you've already made a mistake. He wasn't on top of things there either, so I thought that was really bad”, Albers said in the Formula 1 podcast of De Telegraaf.

Norris's race was 'really bad'

It wasn't the only issue for Norris during the race, where the number two in the world championship went wrong. “As we are on the subject of Norris, I thought his race was also really bad. I thought he made a lot of mistakes. He made in total about three or four mistakes, which consistently increased his gap (to Piastri)”, Albers continued.

Albers acknowledges that Norris also had bad luck in Belgium

The former Minardi driver did make a footnote to his remarks. The driver with number four on the car also had some bad luck, he says. In the end, Norris finished a fairly simple second. “Of course he was a bit unlucky that he made a later pit stop and that the left front wheel didn't go on correctly. But at some point you notice that he attacks, and then he makes a lot of mistakes.”