Champion Lando Norris: “I’d rather have a car that’s terrifyingly fast”

Lando Norris had already laid the foundations for his Grand Prix victory in Hungary on Saturday afternoon. The McLaren star, whose car bears the world champion’s number one, secured pole position for the eleventh round of this year’s World Championship. At the start, however, he fell behind his team-mate Oscar Piastri. Nevertheless, thanks to his strong pace, he was able to fight his way back to the front.

This was also helped by his team-mate’s misfortune, who was rammed whilst lapping Carlos Sainz. Later on, Piastri also retired due to gearbox failure. By then, Norris had long since regained the lead. Speaking about the victory after his first Grand Prix win of the year, he said: “What pleased me most was my pace. The car was still dreadful to drive at times, but it was fast. And I’d rather have a car that’s dreadful and fast than anything else.”

“But I had really good pace throughout the whole race, even when I was behind Oscar at the start. Of course, that wasn’t my best moment in the second corner, but after that I realised just how good my pace was and I was simply stronger in every respect, including tyre wear. That’s why I was convinced I could still win the race,” the 26-year-old continued, beaming.

“I was certain I could reclaim first place, regardless of whether I’d manage it via a pit stop or force him into the pits and stay out for a long time, so I could then plough through the field later on with fresh tyres. I was convinced I could win, and that’s exactly what I did. Of course, he was unlucky, because I think we could have taken the top two places – that was obviously unfortunate,” the Briton explained.

The McLaren upgrade, which has enabled the world champion team to make significant progress, had been working well all weekend. “We were simply on another level this time, and everything came together. When the car is good and I find a good rhythm, there’s no stopping me,” Norris emphasised proudly.

Topic of the week

From major doubts to a major spectacle: why GP fans have reason to be delighted

Before the start of the season, critical voices dominated, but the World Championship rounds so far have shown that the rule changes are delivering exactly what was hoped for: excitement right up to the final lap.

Vanessa Georgoulas

Read more