Norris can't afford any more slip-ups in race for the title

Ahead of tomorrow's Belgian Grand Prix at the prestigious Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Lando Norris trails Max Verstappen by 76 points in the F1 drivers' championship. After the Dutchman won four of the first five races, it is to McLaren's credit that they have caught Red Bull in the development race and, on the evidence of the last month, have overtaken Adrian Newey's ground-effects juggernaut, most effectively in the second half of the grand prix last Sunday.

- KIERAN JACKSON

But what will be to Norris's immense frustration is this: the deficit should be narrower. Points have been left on the table. To be specific, 48. In the last four races in Spain, Austria, Silverstone and Hungary, Norris had openings that he failed to grasp. He started on pole in Barcelona; he crashed with Verstappen in Spielberg; he picked the wrong tyre at his home race; and he led last week from his teammate. And yet he won none of them.

That 48-point bonus, obviously, would not have just taken him 28 points away from Verstappen. The swing of points would be such that, arguably, Norris could be within touching distance of the three-time F1 world champion heading into the summer break. The opportunities squandered are, to an extent, an indication of a team in unfamiliar territory in the modern iteration.