Lando Norris given stern warning after handing Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen advantage

McLaren driver Lando Norris has been warned he has to get his “head in the right place” after seeing his dreams of a British Grand Prix win dashed by a tactical error. The 24-year-old started the race at Silverstone in third place and a good early strategy call saw him overtake Lewis Hamilton and George Russell for the lead.

But later in the race, a team decision to keep him out for an extra lap before putting him on soft tyres instead of medium backfired, with Norris giving up position to Hamilton before being hunted down by Max Verstappen with three laps to go.

And he cut a disconsolate figure afterwards, admitting he was ‘fed up’ with regularly missing out on race wins since his maiden F1 triumph in Miami this year.

“I’m not making the right decisions,” he said. “At the same time, I blame myself today for not making some of the right decisions but I hate it. I hate ending in this position and ever having excuses for not doing a good enough job.”

But Sky Sports F1 pundit Jenson Button thinks that Norris is beginning to show his rivals a weakness with his despondency. It follows Norris also being visibly frustrated after his retirement in Austria last Sunday.

"Lando needs to be a little bit careful with his emotions,” Button said. “He is putting himself down massively and the last race, this race, and it can quite easily spiral out of control.

“We know how important it is to have your head in the right place. He is so talented that I don't want him to be too down on himself so that he is not back up there at the next race. Also you don't want to show your competitors that you're that down. That's a weakness that you don't want to show.”

Button did concede that it was refreshing for F1 drivers to be honest in post-race interviews. However, he also argued that Norris needed to remain positive after emerging as the main challenger to Verstappen’s title crown this season.

"It's lovely that he's open with his emotions and it's great for us viewers, but I'm just thinking of the competitive side of things,” he added. “He shouldn't be so down on himself."

Despite the disappointment, the weekend did further supplement the notion that McLaren currently rival the Red Bull vehicles for pace. And had it not been for the rain at Silverstone, which altered team tactics, he and team-mate Oscar Piastri could conceivably have achieved a one-two finish.

But catching Verstappen in the title race now appears far-fetched. The gap between the pair stands at 84 points, with holding off Charles Leclerc (21 points behind Norris) to cement second place a more realistic target.