Did Lando Norris throw away Belgian GP victory through mistakes?

Lando Norris fell short of converting pole position into victory at Spa-Francorchamps, ultimately having to settle for second place behind Oscar Piastri. Had the British driver won the Belgian Grand Prix, it would have reduced his F1 drivers' championship deficit to his McLaren team-mate to a mere two points, but instead the 14-point swing leaves him 16 adrift with one round to run until the summer break. It was a messy and unpolished drive from the 25-year-old, who had to embark on qualifying lap after qualifying lap in a bid to reel Piastri in after losing the lead when racing commenced with a rolling start on the fifth lap of 44. Having spent 80 minutes waiting for the race to get underway after the initial formation lap behind the safety car was red flagged, Norris misjudged the first corner, taking a tighter line through La Source hairpin before a scruffy exit left him at the mercy of the Australian behind. Piastri made his move for the lead stick, and with it assumed priority in the pit stop phase as the field filed in to replace their intermediate tyres with dry weather ones. Because Norris was close behind his team-mate on the optimal lap to stop, he was forced into circulating again instead of double-stacking, losing him precious time. When he did come in, a slow stop from the McLaren pit crew cost him more time. At almost 10 seconds behind Piastri, he set about pushing lap after lap, but whilst he slowly reeled the 24-year-old in, it induced mistakes from Norris, who went wide at Pouhon before two lock-ups at Turn 1, the second of which consigned him to his fate late on. All three cost him significant time, and he eventually crossed the line 3.4 seconds behind his team-mate. It was a catalogue of misfortune, a McLaren error and further mistakes. He also lost valuable time behind Isack Hadjar with only a handful of laps to run as he came up to lap the Racing Bulls driver, but did Norris throw away victory in Belgium? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment and by voting below in the latest poll by RacingNews365 .