Norris: “It was a fun race!”

6th best time in qualifying, the Brit benefited from Kevin Magnussen’s penalty to move up one place on the grid. Ahead of Pierre Gasly’s Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari, his start looked tense. Not at all! Norris primarily took advantage of Verstappen’s poor start to challenge Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, unexpectedly finding himself in 3rd place. Unfortunately for him, his glory was short-lived as he had to yield to the five-time English world champion in the 4th corner and then to Kimi Räikkönen later in the lap. Afterwards, Norris valiantly resisted Sebastian Vettel before succumbing on the 4th lap approaching the third corner. He faced the wrath of the Dutchman 3 laps later.

It was on the 14th lap that Norris attempted an attack on Räikkönen for the gain of 6th place. A spectacular and very daring dive, but it paid off! Stopping on the 25th lap, the driver with number 4 then gambled on fitting medium tires while the rest of the field opted for hards. This decision quickly proved to be beneficial as Gasly was never able to challenge him.

« It was a fun race », indicated Norris after the finish, obviously delighted with his sixth-place finish.

I managed to move forward and fight the Mercedes and Ferrari for a lap or two. But I quickly thought about my own race. I saved my tires for the first few laps, conserved them before attacking. I did what I had to do: I created a gap and managed my pace. I was on medium tires, so I wasn’t sure what we could do or how the tires would hold up by the end of the stint. Gasly pushed me in the last laps, but I was just doing what I needed to do to save the tires and not take any risks!

Now 8th in the drivers’ standings, Lando Norris will approach the next round at Silverstone with increased motivation. At home, the Briton will attempt to secure a fifth points finish in ten races. Not bad at all for a rookie!