Norris hails ‘unexpected’ McLaren turnaround
Norris hails ‘unexpected’ McLaren turnaround
Lando Norris praised McLaren’s strategy in the French Grand Prix after recovering from a disappointing qualifying to lead home team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in the team’s best two-car result of the season.
Norris qualified eighth on Saturday with Ricciardo 10th but a long first stint gave the British driver a tyre advantage over his rivals that enabled him to climb back through the field after a poor start.
Norris, who finished fifth with Ricciardo sixth, said: “I had a good launch off the line but then my up-shifts were really bad. I had a really bad shift into second or third gear and then I lost everything. I dropped three or four positions.
“But then I did a long first stint, it was quite tricky, the tyres became very difficult at the end but then I created a big delta on the tyres and I could quite easily come back through.
“It was a good fun race for me. We did the only thing we could do. We did something different and it worked. Good points for us as a team, I think our best team result so far this year, so we’re making some progress.
“Yesterday [in qualifying] we under-delivered a little bit, we gave everything we could but something was missing. Today it just came back to us a little bit and it was a bit more normal.
“To get both the Ferraris, which for us as a team is most important, but just to finish behind the Red Bull and Mercedes - when I say behind I mean 40 seconds behind - there are plenty of positives.”
Gasly overtake was ‘tricky’
Norris almost collided with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly as he climbed back through the field on fresh tyres and labelled the French driver “an idiot” on the radio immediately after the incident.
On reflection he said: “It’s tricky. I don’t want to comment on it too much. We’re racing and things happen. The fact that he also ended up completely off the track is the bad part about it. He forced me off but even he went off himself.
“Maybe he was a bit over-aggressive and he needs to do a better job next time but a lot of what he did was fine, it was just that final bit where he tried a bit too hard.
"It’s racing, and as long as he doesn’t do it again, I’m happy."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Cullen relationship blossoms with new star after moving on from Hamilton
- 42 minutes ago
Hamilton dealt major Newey blow as shock COMPLICATION revealed
- 1 hour ago
F1 News Today: Incredible Verstappen exit clause reignites F1 rival talks as Mercedes milestone reveals shock RED livery
- 3 hours ago
Horner outlines Ricciardo target to save F1 dream as major Newey announcement made - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
Mercedes reveal shock RED livery to celebrate historic milestone
- Yesterday 22:57
Ricciardo makes five-race admission in bid to survive F1 axe
- Yesterday 21:57
Related news
F1 driver hails 'INCREDIBLE' race return opportunity as track options assessed
French president gives HUGE update on historic F1 race
Rumours BUILD over French GP return to F1 calendar
F1 masterplan to secure ICONIC track's return takes tantalising new twist
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860