Lando Norris and McLaren blame ‘small glitch’ for shaky start at Hungarian Grand Prix

In the hours and days since the Hungarian Grand Prix, McLaren has faced questions regarding how they handled guiding Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to a one-two finish, the first for the team since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. Much of the focus has been on the set of team orders given to Norris late in the race after he took the lead when the team called him into the pits ahead of Piastri, who was leading the race.

However, to hear Norris explain it the reason he lost was not due to the set of team orders, but rather a slow start off the line.

“I didn’t lose the win there, I lost the win off the line,” he said after the race. “I had – not even a terrible start- just a bad start. Something happened on my second shift and I lost all my momentum. Oscar got to the inside and that was it.”

Now the team has outlined what happened after the start, pointing to a “glitch” for Norris when trying to get into second gear.

In the team’s post-race recap, McLaren noted that glitch. “It wasn’t the smoothest of starts to the race for Lando, though, as he experienced a small glitch finding second gear during his acceleration from pole. This allowed Verstappen to slipstream alongside to his left, on the outside of the first corner.”

This marked the fifth occasion where Norris began a Formula 1 race on pole, but on each such occasion, he lost the lead on the opening lap. That includes the Spanish Grand Prix a few weeks ago where again Norris seemed slower in the second phase of the start, which resulted in a drag race between the McLaren driver and Max Verstappen.

The beneficiary of that drag race? George Russell, who swooped by the two to take the lead on the opening lap.

Norris and Piastri have both shown incredible pace in recent weeks and as Norris looks to secure his second Grand Prix win, that second phase of the start might be a focus going forward.