McLaren make painful Lando Norris admission as title hopes go up in smoke in Brazil

believe that a 'technical' fault on the MCL38 caused to lose grip during the final stint of the . The Brit suffered multiple excursions off the racetrack as he laboured to a P6 finish in Interlagos.

Initially, Norris' race looked promising. With his championship rival Max Verstappen starting down in 17th and the Brit kicking off from the pole, he had a clear run towards a priceless points gain.

Even after losing the lead to George Russell at Turn One, his pace was strong and the McLaren man was immediately hounding the rear of the Mercedes driver. However, when an unfortunately timed red flag dropped him back into the pack and lifted Verstappen up to a net P2, the momentum shifted.

Norris initially held position and even overtook Russell on track, but when Carlos Sainz brought out the safety car, his race went downhill. Caught napping by the Mercedes at the restart, the 24-year-old ran deep into Turn One and onto the run-off area, losing a couple of places in the process.

Discussing the Brit's struggles, team principal Andrea Stella explained: "When we lock the tyres with the car like we have today, I am not looking at the driver. I am looking at why the car keeps locking the front tyres in conditions like this - I don't think pressure was a significant factor at all."

He went on to add: "We have struggled with the lock-ups all weekend in wet conditions with both drivers and I think from a car point of view this is also something that we need to look into."

Stella was clear in absolving Norris of blame for the incidents. "That will definitely be something that we are looking into," he continued. "It seems to appear in some conditions. I can't really comment - I will give away some IP.

"But it's a little unpredictable and for drivers, it's also difficult to make adaptations from one lap to the other. It comes just down to unpredictably. I would say this is a technical opportunity for the team rather than something that the drivers need to look into themselves."

For Norris, the consequences were disastrous. He went into the Grand Prix 44 points back from Verstappen with a shot to make up significant ground, , offering the three-time world champion the opportunity to add a fourth in Las Vegas next time out.