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How virtual safety car cost Norris win - and should F1 change rules?

Lando Norris says he was "insanely unlucky" to lose what seemed like a certain win in the Spanish Grand Prix because of the timing of a virtual safety car. McLaren's Norris was leading comfortably w…

How virtual safety car cost Norris win - and should F1 change rules?
BBC Sport — 13 September 2026
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Lando Norris says he was "insanely unlucky" to lose what seemed like a certain win in the Spanish Grand Prix because of the timing of a virtual safety car.

McLaren's Norris was leading comfortably when the VSC was called, seconds after he had passed the pit lane entry.

That allowed Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and Red Bull's Max Verstappen to pit under the VSC, saving time, while the caution period ended before Norris could make it around to the pits again.

Of the VSC, Norris said: "It is a rule that should not define a whole race."

"I was the only one on the whole grid that didn't get the chance to do the pit stop," he said. "That's just unfortunate.

"There's been plenty of times where I've gained from it in the past and times where I've lost from it, and it's racing, but never when fighting for a win.

"So, it's probably one of the first times a win has been lost simply because of it."

After taking pole position with a lap his team principal Andrea Stella described as "a masterpiece", Norris was leading Antonelli by more than six seconds after 13 laps in Madrid.

Read Full Story at BBC Sport →
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"It is a rule that should not define a whole race."
— BBC Sport
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