Lando Norris says he has « nothing to prove » after victory in Austria

Lando Norris has returned to victory at the Red Bull Ring, narrowing the gap between him and Oscar Piastri in the championship to just 15 points.

Read also: Grand Prix of Austria – Race: Norris triumphs against Piastri

A crucial victory

This is undoubtedly his most impressive victory of the season, with Lando Norris having demonstrated great skill in on-track duels against his teammate.

The two McLarens engaged in an intense battle in the first part of the race. Key moment: before the pit stop phase, Lando Norris managed to stay ahead of Oscar Piastri by maintaining DRS during their confrontations in turn 3.

The Briton described the weekend as rewarding, allowing him to bounce back after his retirement in Montreal. “It’s clearly rewarding for me,” said the McLaren driver at the FIA press conference on Sunday.

« It gives me confidence. I don’t need to prove anything to anyone, honestly. I like to prove things to myself, maybe more than to anyone else. It was a clean weekend starting from FP2. I felt very comfortable, very in control of the car, and delivered exactly the performance I wanted and needed to deliver. »

I just had a clean weekend, that’s all. It’s not that I wasn’t capable before, the performance has always been there at certain times. But there have been different reasons why it hasn’t always worked. That said, doing the job yesterday and today makes me quite happy. But it didn’t come easily, he explains.

Upfront work. « It’s not like I just arrived this weekend and everything got better. I work a lot. I do much more work than before, off the track, with the team, on the simulator, with my personal team as well, to try to improve everything I can, on and off the track. »

« What is positive is seeing that all this work is starting to pay off. It’s a good step in the right direction. But I want even more, so we are going to keep working », he declares.

Lando Norris satisfied with his duel with Oscar Piastri

During the Canadian Grand Prix, Lando Norris retired after colliding with Oscar Piastri’s rear on the 67th lap of the race.

The two McLaren drivers had already fought hard in Montreal, but the collision on the pit straight dashed their hopes.

In Spielberg, Lando Norris was pleased that this time the duel with his teammate was intense but clean. « No, we just had some good battles, like we’ve had before », added Lando Norris.

« Certainly, they probably didn’t last as long as the one today, but I think we both know what to expect from each other. We both want to fight hard, but fairly. »

« It’s both ways, and of course, we have to put Montreal behind us, in any case, I’ve done it. It’s something I would have preferred to avoid, but it was good to be able to fight again and push the limits. There were some tight moments, but nothing that made Andrea [Stella] or the pit wall sweat too much », he concluded.