“Such a great driver, Lando” – The McLaren driver overtook the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and fought bravely with the Red Bull of Sergio Perez to win a deserved Austrian GP podium.
Lando Norris has hands-down been the most impressive driver on the grid this season. Not content with holding off the Ferraris, the McLaren driver is now taking on the likes of Mercedes and Red Bull.
His Austrian GP podium was his third this season, keeping him just three points off third-placed Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. Both drivers clashed on the opening lap of the race, following which Norris was given a 5-seconds time penalty, which seemed rather harsh.
“I thought that lap one was just racing, really. [Perez] tried to go round the outside which was a bit stupid, and he ran off the track himself. I didn’t push him. I’m frustrated, but I’m also happy with P3, we had a very good pace, and I’m happy.
“It was a lot of fun, a good race, it was exciting. But I’m disappointed because we should’ve been in second place.”
So good, @LandoNorris! 👏#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/qG7hzAM5Gs
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) July 4, 2021
Norris ahead of Bottas in standings
Unwavered by it, Norris expertly went past Lewis Hamilton and could have easily overtaken Bottas too, but the Finn held firm to confirm P2. He expressed delight with the fact that McLaren is not making it easy for the two teams at the top.
“I think we had a good pace. I could keep up with him (Bottas), even with the dirty air. But as soon as I got within DRS or close to one second, I started struggling too much.
“Should’ve, would’ve, could’ve in the end. It’s nice to know that we can be there, we can race them. It’s the first race in many years of actually racing the Mercedes and Red Bulls. Hopefully, we’ll keep it up next time.”
