McLaren was the big revelation in qualifying for the British Grand Prix. In Austria, the Woking team had introduced a new package on Lando Norris’ car and the British driver had repaid it with a protagonist weekend, finishing in fourth place.
At Silverstone, the new material was also made available to Oscar Piastri, and the performance of both drivers was nothing short of superlative, given that the MCL60s will line up in second and third position, with the local idol Norris who really missed pole position by a hair’s breadth: 241 thousandths against Max Verstappen’s Red Bull are really nothing, especially if you consider that at the beginning of the year McLaren was in great difficulty and was fighting in the back-up positions.
“I came really close,” said a Norris who hinted at Jenson Button’s microphone that he really believed in it. “If I’m not mistaken, I was first in both Q1 and Q2, then in Q3 I was only two tenths away from pole position. It’s crazy, my last lap was very good, then I heard Zak on the radio ( Brown) who was very happy. I’m very happy, it’s great, because being second and third is great for the whole team.”
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
A result that tastes even more special on the home track. And that the mood is good can be understood from the joke he reserved for the World Championship leader: “Max always ruins everything, it’s really a bummer (laughs). Jokes aside, I’m very happy. I also want to thank the public, because It’s been a special day for us and I can’t wait for tomorrow.”
Looking back on the difficulties with which 2023 had started, but also on the ability to react that his team had, he concluded: “These moments reward you with a little bit of everything, of all the hard work we’ve put in. Here, in the race At home for both me and the team, we couldn’t have gotten a better result. It’s just a shame about Max who always ruins everything, but he was really fantastic.”
The top three qualifiers are Lando Norris, McLaren, pole man Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Oscar Piastri, McLaren.
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
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