Many thought that the McLarens in second and third place on the starting grid were a flash in the pan, but Lando Norris today demonstrated that there was a lot of roast in the performance unleashed in qualifying at Silverstone.
The British rider got off to a better start than Max Verstappen and for a few laps he had the satisfaction of commanding his home race, before handing over the baton to the World Championship leader, who once again went into a solitary breakaway. However, Norris’ rhythm was amazing and he held on to the place of honor until the checkered flag, thus achieving his first podium of the season, which is also his first on home soil.
Among other things, the speed of his MCL60 was surprising when, after a restart from the Safety Car, he had to defend himself from an aggressive Lewis Hamilton, who had soft tires unlike his hard ones. However, Lando did not leave him the slightest passage and once he arrived at parc fermé he also enjoyed the party.
“It’s really crazy! I have to thank the team, who did a stratospheric job: none of this would have been possible without their efforts. It’s crazy what we’ve managed to do. They put me on hard tires and I’m still a bit ‘ perplexed by this thing, but we fought great with Lewis. I tried to give Max a hard time as much as possible, then it was a long and lonely race, but it was fantastic,” said Norris before getting on the David Coulthard microphone podium.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL60, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL60
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Despite his joy, he didn’t hide a hint of disappointment at the tires that were fitted to him in his only pit stop: “They wanted to put me on tires that probably guaranteed a longer life, but I would have liked the soft ones, because I think they were the More sensible choice having to restart after the Safety Car. But it doesn’t matter, I was second and I stayed second, so it’s perfectly fine”.
Finally, he addressed a thought to all the British public, but also to his teammate Oscar Piastri, who had to settle for fourth place, but probably would have conquered his first podium in Formula 1 without the intervention of the Safety Car.
“Throughout the lap of honour, I tried to say hello to everyone. I have to say a huge thank you to the British fans, who have given me and McLaren a lot of support. If we had finished second and third it would have been even better, because I think Oscar would have deserved the podium and that without the Safety Car he would have taken it”.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL60, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL60, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
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