“I was aquaplaning quite a bit” – Lando Norris has returned from the hospital after precautionary X-rays and is fit to start today’s race at Spa.
After the horrendous crash yesterday, it seemed difficult that Lando Norris would be fit to start today’s Belgian GP. But after a round of X-ray inspections and a repair job on his elbow, he has been given the green light to participate.
He spoke to the media last evening and was delighted to be back. He did, however, express annoyance on crashing out of the qualifying session with heavy damage. As a result, McLaren has put in a new gearbox, leading to a 5-place grid penalty for Norris today.
“Everything was going extremely well. Since the first lap in Q1 things were going perfectly, and the car was feeling hooked up, I felt confident with the car.
“I guess it was tricky going out in Q3 because even on the out lap, I was saying how wet it was and saying it should be stopped or something because I was aquaplaning quite a bit.
“So it was just a difficult situation to be in: how much do you want to push, how much do you not? I think it’s a combination of pushing a bit too much for the weather at that point, aquaplaning a little bit in the middle of Eau Rouge, which obviously doesn’t end too well, and ends up being the way it was in the end.
“Of course, I feel bad because things were going very well, the car was on fire, and Q1 and Q2 were extremely good. I think I could have quite easily fought for pole position.
“I’ve now given the team a lot of work to do, but not a lot I can do now. I think at the end of the day I guess my mistake and my bad. But I didn’t feel like I was taking too many risks at the same time. I think it was just the conditions were so tough.
“And from what I heard a lot of other drivers were complaining that it should get stopped at the same time. So yeah, of course, I was frustrated and annoyed, but we’ll try and make up for it.”
