Lando Norris: Slow turns are our weak point

      With a one-point advantage, Lando Norris remained the championship leader and summed up the weekend in Suzuka.…

      Q: Lando, you showed a great pace. How would you rate the second place in Suzuka?Lando Norris: With regret. I saw Max clearly the whole race, but I couldn't get close to him. There was no one ahead, he was driving on a free track and made no mistakes – that was enough to win.

      Max had a good race, but we didn't have enough speed to close the gap in the disturbed air flow, get to the attack range from the DRS and then overtake, which is a separate story, because it's difficult to overtake here.

      Maybe I should have chosen some other strategy, I don't know. We'll discuss some points later, but overall we had a good weekend, and I scored a lot of points for myself and the team. Of course, I would like more, but when the first place is unavailable, you have to settle for the second.

      Q: Why did Oscar go to the pit stop first? Have you discussed this?Lando Norris: We knew roughly what to expect, and we discussed some issues in advance. After the race, it's easy to think about what should have been done. It was possible to make a pit stop first, or vice versa - to stretch the first segment, but this increased the risks. If I get into the pits three laps early and the safety car gets on the track at that moment, we'll look stupid.

      We can't win all the races, but we have a lot to work on. We were very strong at high speeds and I think we have the fastest car, but in the slow sections we were inferior to Red Bull. That's why we didn't win qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday.

      Q: Tell us about the fight with Max at the exit of the pit lane, when you were driving on the grass... Lando Norris: Our guys had a great pit stop. It was our only chance to get closer. I wasn't even trying to race with Max, I was just "cutting the grass," as he said! Actually, I didn't even know he was there. There are no problems here. He had a position, and he had the right to do what he did – everything was fair.

      Q: Next weekend we will have the Bahrain Grand Prix. How strong will your car be there? Do you expect Max to pose the same threat in Bahrain as he does here?Lando Norris: It's hard to say. Most likely, yes. Our weak spot has become obvious – we lose in slow turns. Suzuka has a relatively slow track, so we conceded.

      Oscar and I achieved a lot from the car on Saturday, we almost fully realized its potential, but we didn't have much advantage. Red Bull was able to win back the gap, and Max did a great job.

      However, they were strong before that. He fought for victory in Australia, but was not so far away in China. He was stronger in Japan. So I expect him to challenge us every weekend.

      Q: Given the development of events in the race, was it the right decision to pit on the same lap as Max, rather than try something else?Lando Norris: I don't know. I could have driven more and delayed the pit stop, but clipping is not particularly effective on this track because the Hard tires are too slow in the first sector. I'm not sure if it would have worked at all. And Max always had a small gap.

      Question: Do you have a feeling that at this stage the fight for the title is going on only within your top three?Lando Norris: It looks like it. Although sometimes it seems that we will see a lot of competition from those who are still behind. Charles Leclair was not much behind, in the second leg on the Hard track he rode at the same pace as me.

      The cars of the other teams are also fast, it's just that the top three are more stable, better at qualifying and racing, so they have an advantage. I think if George Russell had started from pole position, he would have won this race. The advantage goes to those who look better in qualifying, and on Saturday the McLaren and Red Bull cars are more competitive than the rest.