Norris calls out 'unfair' VSC rules after lost Madrid win

Lando Norris says Formula 1 should change its “unfair” virtual safety car rules that robbed him of victory at the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix.

Norris was looking on course for victory at the Madring before an ill-timed virtual safety car for Lance Stroll’s stricken Aston Martin took it away. 

The McLaren driver had already passed the pit entry when the virtual safety car was called, while those chasing him, like Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen, were able to pit and lose far less time than Norris, who pitted the next lap under green flag conditions. 

“I was just unlucky, I was the only one on the whole grid who doesn’t get a pitstop,” Norris told Sky Sports F1 after the race. 

“So I lose 20 seconds on the whole grid, this is out of my control, it’s out of their control, it’s… It’s a rule that shouldn’t define a race. 

“A race should be won by the guy who can put in the best performance, who maybe takes a risk by going long in a stint, and maybe you get a safety car later on and things can help. 

“You know that’s one of the big factors but for everyone to get a VSC pit and for me to get nothing…It’s just, it’s unfair, but it’s happened in the past, others have won from it, probably won it for me in the past. 

“It’s just…I don’t think many people have lost a race win over it. So it’s frustrating I don’t feel like it’s the way you should lose. 

“We spoke about it in the past in drivers’ briefings, saying they should leave it out at least for a lap, so it’s equal for everyone. 

“Today I was the only one who lost out and I lost about 20 seconds of race time and that’s… that’s not how it should be.” 

Norris added: “It's been brought up many times over the years by different drivers. I think there's always probably some cons to doing it. 

“But it's tough. Like I said, I've won from it in the past. I've lost from it in the past, over the course of a season it's hard to know if it's a good thing or a bad thing. It probably equals out over time.

“It just hurts more the fact I lose a win. There's literally nothing I could do as a driver today to do a better job. Pole, led the race. And to lose it for nothing in my control is... I don't think how a race should be won. 

“I think people, I hope people agree, I think people would agree…but it is racing and it's happened. So I can't really complain about it. I can be upset about it, but I can't really complain about it.”

As well as the idea of leaving out the VSC for a full lap, Norris also floated, “Or you just block the pit entry and no one can box, apart from if you have a puncture or something. 

“So I think there's a few things you could do to make it more simple and more fair for everyone. But that's a bigger discussion. 

“This is not something I can just ask for. I think it's something as a group of drivers, I think we would all want. But there's a lot more to it, depending on if it's raining and there's a VSC and you're on slicks, does it mean you can box or not? So it's a complicated subject.

“But I think as a collection of drivers, if we all talk about it, I think everyone wants the same thing and that's just fairness for everyone. 

“I'm complaining about it today. I could benefit from it next week, next time out and I could win because of it. I have to take it on the chin. But I just hope it doesn't happen to anyone again, because it's just not how you should lose a race.” 

Asked whether he’d like to see a rule change, Verstappen - sat next to Norris in the post-race press conference - said: “I’ve also won races because of it. I've lost races because of it. 

“It is extremely painful today for Lando in that case to lose a win. Like sometimes it can be, you might lose points, but this time it's a win. That's really not nice. 

“But unfortunately, I think a lot of drivers have had it that you win some, you lose some. But can it be better? Probably yes, in the future. But we'll probably talk about it in the next briefing and see if there is anything that can be done.” 

Race winner Antonelli acknowledged Norris “deserved to win” the race. 

Norris’s McLaren team boss Andrea Stella was asked by The Race whether changes needed to be made to the VSC rules.

“Offering a personal opinion, I'm puzzled myself as to what's right,” Stella replied.

“Is it correct to give enough duration such that everyone will have been subject to the same track conditions, so for instance the virtual safety car lasts at least one full lap or you just keep it in the hands of the gods and sometimes you're lucky, sometimes you are not?

“I'm not sure myself but in general there's the right place where is a sort of conversation, which is the Strategy Advisory Committee [SAC] and this is a topic that may be added to the agenda and discussed over there. 

“But if it's a change it will have to be a change that goes through the SAC, then we have confirmation and then we have to do at some stage in the sporting regulations.

“But I would envisage such that this is a relatively lengthy process unless there's a big push from F1, from the institutions, FIA or F1 to say ‘we need to make this different’. 

“As a competitor at the moment, I don’t have a clear idea.” 

Stella made it clear he had no problem with how the Spanish GP race director handled things on Sunday.

“Like all the times in which a safety car or a virtual safety car timing or duration has a large influence on a race, we have an opportunity to review whether we can do things differently, but this is not under the jurisdiction of the race director,” Stella explained.

“The race director applies the guidance and the regulations at the moment of the race that he is directing.

“When there's a situation like the one that caused the virtual safety car, the attention of the race director and rightly so, is on when the conditions exist to turn the virtual safety car on and when they exist to turn it off. 

“I don't think he takes a look at what's happening in the race; it would be a big distraction. 

“So I think we have absolutely no comment on the race director themselves. I think they've done a good job according to what is the present. 

“Perhaps there's a wider reflection that the Formula 1 community should apply as to whether to keep things like they are or [if you should] introduce ways of maintaining more fairness, but this is not for the race director to do.”