Lando Norris has made no secret of his ambitions to win at Silverstone, describing a potential home victory as the crowning moment of his F1 career so far. Despite never claiming the top step at his home GP, the McLaren driver has already amassed an impressive string of results at the historic British circuit – second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth. Yet, it is clear that only a win will suffice.
“Yeah. I mean, I think it is tough to ever put something above Monaco, but I said it before Monaco that if I could win anything, if I could swap all race wins for one, it would be for a Silverstone win,” Norris said ahead of the British GP weekend.
He continued, “It is a plan. Obviously, a lot of work, a lot of things to do before then, but Monaco is special. I think they will be very different, for different reasons. Monaco is just the history, what it means to everyone and the people that have won there. Silverstone is because it is my home race, and the British fans and the Lando fans, all those guys. So, different reasons, but it will be the one that probably puts the biggest smile on my face, bigger than Monaco, and it is the one that since I was a kid and since I first started watching F1 that I have wanted to win the most.”
Rebuilding confidence after Austria
Following a strong weekend in Austria, where Norris claimed victory after a thrilling wheel-to-wheel duel with team-mate Oscar Piastri, the 25-year-old believes he has rediscovered some of his best form. Yet, he remains cautious, stressing that every F1 circuit presents a different challenge.
“I mean, if there is any place you would hope I can ‘find my garden’, it is here,” Norris responded when asked if the 2025 F1 British GP could offer the same positive feeling he had in Austria.
“I definitely felt a little bit more back on track in Austria, but it is not a guarantee that I am going to have the same feelings here. Sometimes it can be very track specific, tarmac specific, tyre temperature, whatever. I certainly felt better, certainly felt more back in the rhythm. My !uali lap in Q3 was one of the best I have ever done. I certainly got that feeling, a bit more of the old me back, but I am also not one to ever just say I am back. I think I have got to prove that with consistency and prove it to myself as always.”
Although Silverstone brings its own set of variables, Norris remains hopeful that the home crowd and familiarity will work in his favour. “Austria just gives you more motivation coming here to try and achieve a similar thing to last weekend. You always want to feel like your home race gives you a bit more of an advantage. So, I hope that is the case this weekend.”
The red line between racing and risk
Much of the talk since Austria has revolved around the thrilling, clean fight between Norris and Piastri. The McLaren duo showed that team-mates can race hard without stepping over the line, though Norris acknowledged that the margin for error remains razor-thin.
“I would say Canada was a fairly red line. Yeah. That was the red line. So, the red line is just no contact. That is it, I would say. It is simple. It is also not simple because when you are racing so much on the limits and you are trying to push the limits of everything, it is so easy to make mistakes,” Norris explained.
“As much as you can say we are the best drivers in the world, it does not mean people do not make mistakes. Even the very best who have won multiple World Championships still make mistakes. That is the line that we do not ever want to cross, and I think we both know that very much so as drivers.”
“We want to race,” says Norris after Austria duel with Piastri
He also highlighted the internal communication at McLaren. “We want to race. There will still be times when as a team we get told we will have to hold position or do this or do that because we are still under the guidance of the team. But the whole race last weekend was ‘let them race’, and that is what we did.”
Norris added, “It is clear to us. It is not always something that we have to voice and make clear to everyone else, but it is quite simple. You can do what you guys want to do. You can have fun [and] you can get close.”
“I am sure it will make them nervous like it already did last weekend, but there is also a lot of people that work hard to build our cars and give us the possibility to win a race in the first place. If we lose those opportunities because of something silly, then that is where we easily cross the line. So, free to race most of the time for sure, and just do not do what I did in Canada.”
Austria as a confidence launchpad
Norris’ standout qualifying performance in Austria has clearly given him a lift, but he remains grounded and focused on the task ahead at the 2025 F1 British GP.
“I mean, it is definitely my goal to do something like that again. I think especially from a Qualifying point of view, my lap in Q3 was probably one of the best laps I have ever done in Quali,” he said when asked whether that level of performance could be repeated elsewhere.
“So, in some ways, I want to be confident that if I can replicate it, then no one can beat it. That is how good it felt. But I also know how hard it is to achieve that every single weekend in the first place. So, it is a tricky one.”
Norris has no illusions about the consistency required at the top level. “All I can do is focus on this weekend, focus on practice, then Quali, then the race. I also do not have the expectation that I am going to do it every weekend. I have the desire, but not the expectation to have a weekend like that every single weekend.”
He concluded, “Like I said, all I can do is work on my job one step at a time. The team do their stuff, and together we try to achieve it more than once.”
All eyes on Sunday
As Norris prepares for what could be the most important race of his career so far, the buzz around 2025 F1 British GP continues to build. The British driver has all the tools: the form, the crowd, and the motivation. Now, all that remains is execution.
