Lando Norris reflected on his P2 finish at the Belgian GP, being ‘slightly disappointed’ but happy for the team who closed out a McLaren one-two.
After a successful qualifying session the previous day, the McLaren driver came out on top and earned a P1 start in the race. However, Norris was unable to convert the pole position into a win after an overtake from teammate Piastri.
The race had already begun under unfavourable circumstances, with a one-hour delay issued by Race Control due to visibility concerns. When the race began with a rolling Safety Car start, Piastri was able to stay with Norris and eventually take the place with the help of a tow from his teammate. From there, Piastri established his lead, and Norris was unable to make up the necessary time to challenge him once again for the position.
“Nothing more I could do”
Post-race, Lando spoke with the media in Parc-Ferme, sharing his thoughts on the final finishing order. “Oscar just did a good job. Nothing more to say. He committed a bit more through Eau Rouge and had the slipstream and got the run. Nothing to complain of”.
He continued, giving the victor due credit: “[Oscar] did a better job and that was it. Nothing more I could do after that point. Would love to be on top, but Oscar deserved it today”.
Toward the end of the race, Norris had begun to close the gap to the race leader. This was thanks to the hard tyres that gave him the upper hand over those on a degrading medium. However, a few lock-ups and incidents running wide cost him a few precious fractions of a second.
Questioned on whether the win was possible, were it not for the mistakes, Norris responded, “It shoulda, woulda, coulda, so Oscar deserved it. I’m sure he made a couple of mistakes, so if he drove a perfect race, I could not have won today.”
He maintained a positive and forward-facing attitude, remarking that the result was still great for the team. “I’ll review my things, but I’m so happy for the team. Another one-two. I think our first one-two here for many, many years. Nice to bring that back to the team. A well-deserved result for them and for Oscar”.
Upwards and Onwards to Budapest
Looking toward the next race weekend at the Hungarian GP, Norris’ demeanour visibly lifted as he spoke about one of his favourite circuits.
“Budapest is one of the best ones for me in terms of what I’ve done there in the past years. It’s where I started my Formula 1 career. Always good memories.” He continued, highlighting the track’s favourability to him, declaring, ” [It is] Normally one that suits me a bit better than Spa.”
He sealed his thoughts on the results of the concluded race, remarking, “Happy with today. Slightly disappointed, but looking forward to next week.”
