Norris was one of only four drivers who opted to gain track position by not stopping when Lance Stroll’s crash triggered a safety car period early in the Jeddah race and having started sixth he was left in the lead at the restart, until Max Verstappen got by two laps later.
As with fellow non-stoppers Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg and Zhou Guanyu, the hope was that a later safety car or virtual safety car period would allow him to make a cheap pitstop.
However, the race ran interrupted to the chequered flag, and in fact Norris was obliged to make an earlier stop than the team had planned in order to cover Hamilton, who switched to softs in the closing laps. He eventually finished eighth, two places down on his grid position.
“You never know at the time, and we wanted to try something different, and not just stay behind,” said Norris when asked by Autosport about the call to remain on track and not pit.
“We could have gained a lot of points, or we could have lost a few. And in the end, we lost a few. But that's just the way it is sometimes. So it was a good try, I think it was the correct call to make.
“Sometimes I feel like we're a little bit safe. It's nice to be a little bit more aggressive, and try something different. So I'm happy with our decision. It wasn't the best one, or let's say the correct one. But that's in hindsight. I'm still happy with how we tried to execute it all.”
Source: Autosport