Norris on his Japanese Grand Prix: ‘I almost had Max’

Lando Norris reflects on his Japanese Grand Prix P2 finish and shares how he “almost had Max” during the opening lap.

McLaren had its day in the sun at the Japanese Grand Prix. With Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both making it onto the podium it was very obvious that the team had got Suzuka right. However, both Norris and Piastri, like the true competitors they are, found areas to improve on in their performance.

Norris focused on his performance against Max Verstappen during the race. Despite coming second, the British driver couldn’t help but compare himself to the Dutch champion stating he was close behind. When asked about his performance, Norris spoke about the highlights but also mentioned his battle with Verstappen right at the start.

“Pretty much everything went our way today.  [The start] was key to a lot of stuff.”

“I almost had Max as well. I had him into Turn 1 just not Turn 2”

“He [Verstappen] wasn’t going to give it up easy. I fought, but I didn’t want to take myself out of the race either”.

Piastri and his maiden podium

It wasn’t just any old double podium for McLaren but it was Oscar Piastri’s first Grand Prix podium. In his post-race interview, the Australian rookie said that he was “very very happy”. Despite the momentous occasion, Piastri also shared Norris’ outlook and looked for ways he could have improved.

“I think there’s still a lot to learn and a lot to improve on”.

Although he did dwell on possible improvements, Piastri was mainly looking at the positives. He spoke about letting the podium “sink in” and then joked that the champagne (from the podium) had also ‘sunk in’ after getting sprayed by Lando.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CxkOwslI0wm/

Andrea Stella’s thoughts

The spirits couldn’t be higher for the McLaren team. Team Principal Andrea Stella shared his joy.

“This week in Japan we’ve reached an important milestone in our journey at McLaren. For the first time this season, we finished with both cars on the podium.”

“It’s also the first podium for Oscar in Formula 1.”

“That’s a phenomenal achievement in his rookie season”

“We’re delighted for him and so pleased as a team that we’ve been able to make it possible.”

Feature Image: McLaren.com