Where McLaren tripped up in Russia

The Russian Grand Prix was just the latest instalment in what is turning out to be one of the best seasons in F1 history and now only two points separate the leaders. If you missed the race and only looked at the results – Lewis winning and Max second – you’d think it the least dramatic GP of the year.

But I want to take a moment to look at the race from the perspective of the team that almost and perhaps should have won it. For the truth is that following Daniel Ricciardo’s lights-to-flag win in Monza, McLaren came within three laps of taking two in a row. That last happened with Jenson and Lewis back in 2012. In Sochi the team didn’t look great on the long runs on Friday but Lando Norris was absolutely superb in qualifying and the race itself. On Saturday, he and his McLaren team made the call to switch to dry weather tyres at exactly the right moment.