“That laid a very good foundation for McLaren”- Lando Norris attributes 2020 success to Austria

“That laid a very good foundation for McLaren”- Lando Norris credited successful 2020 for McLaren to the podium in the Austrian Grand Prix.

Lando Norris had an impactful start to the 2020 season, as he secured P3 in the Austrian Grand Prix, courtesy to Lewis Hamilton’s five-second penalty for an offence against Alex Albon.

Norris thinks the success at Speiberg was a pivotal reason for McLaren’s motivation to do better in the season, as the team was vying for a comeback to its prestigious position in the sport.

“The podium finish at the Grand Prix of Austria last season certainly helped myself and the team to become even more motivated for the rest of the season”, Norris told select members of the press, including RacingNews365.com.

“It was an important moment for myself, but also the team. We started the season well, and that laid a very good foundation for McLaren. I was rarely in the right position to take a podium in 2019.”

“That’s why I worked hard over the winter to make sure I was more consistent throughout the race. That hard work paid off immediately during the first race of the season, and the result of course also gave me a great boost.”

“So it wasn’t a top-five place or something in the first race of the year, but a podium place immediately and it was also my first podium place ever in Formula 1.”

Personal boost to self-belief

He also mentioned that it also gave him immense confidence as in 2019, which was his rookie season, he hardly managed to be in the right spot for a podium.

“Everyone at McLaren was pleased with that result, but I still think it was even better for me. Especially since the year before I was never really in the right position to take advantage of some situations to get on the podium.”

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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