McLaren driver, Lando Norris, finished second at the Spanish GP as he did not “have the pace to match” his teammate, Oscar Piastri. However, he was still happy with his team’s finish and praised Piastri, saying he “drove a very good race today“.
Lando Norris is happy with his team’s one-two finish, as he did not “have the pace to match” his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.
Norris praised his teammate, saying he “drove a very good race today“. The 25-year-old battled Verstappen thought the race, but was able to start and finish in P2. The Briton said in parc fermé that “it was a good fun race” at the Spanish GP.
How did Norris fair?
Lando Norris started and finished the Spanish GP in P2. The Briton had a great start, with Max Verstappen taking second at the first corner of the race. However, the McLaren driver was able to take back his starting place at Lap 13, overtaking Verstappen at the same sport he lost P2.
Verstappen got close to Norris again on Lap 52 however both drivers found themselves in traffic with the lapped Oliver Bearman and Liam Lawson. However, Norris was able to get ahead, leaving Verstappen to deal with the rookies.
The McLaren team took advantage of the Safety Car caused by Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s power unit failure. The team completed a back-to-back pit stop with both drivers. That risky pit stop proved very beneficial for the Woking based team as Norris was able to keep his P2 standing with Piastri ahead.
The Briton was able to hold on to his position after the Safety Car restart and was able to hold a two-second gap to Piastri ahead as he crossed the chequered flag at the Spanish GP.
“A good fun race”
Norris was happy with his team’s finish, but knew he did not “have the pace” to match his teammate. However, it was a battle to hold on to P2. When asked if he did everything to could to keep his position, Norris answered, “I did, yes”.
“I did, yes, but Oscar drove a very good race today. Didn’t quite have the pace to match him, but we gave it our best shot. It’s a long race. Anything could have happened at the end. We both got pretty sideways with the safety car restart.
Even though the championship contender did not see the top step of the podium, he was happy to see McLaren’s first one-two since 1998 at the Spanish GP.
“It was a good fun race. And for us as a team, to finish one-two is even better.”
