After the magnificent performance by Lando Norris on Saturday’s qualification, the McLaren driver was reminded of the disappointing race in Spain. This has come right after the British driver managed to bag a front-row start at Silverstone, after a P3 in Barcelona. However, Norris was quick to dismiss the haunting reminder.
Similar to Silverstone’s P2, Norris managed an encouraging qualifying result in Barcelona as well. However, his race result didn’t show mercy to him as he ended up without points in the end. Despite starting strongly by going wheel-to-wheel against Max Verstappen, Norris had to take a P17 finish.
But now, having moved on from Spain, the McLaren driver, and his team are believed to be in a better place as they no longer want a reminder from the past. Moreover, the 23-year-old was seen exuding confidence after a surprising Q3 performance at the British Grand Prix.
Lando Norris is reluctant to go back to the dark day
The British driver was asked about the fateful day at the Circuit de Catalunya during the post-qualification press conference. However, Norris was quick to stop the journalist who asked him about it.
Further, speaking on it, the young Briton said with a smile, “We don’t talk about Barcelona anymore.” Following this, Norris began to talk about the sizable upgrades they had in Austria, instead.
Nicely done @LandoNorris ✨#SpanishGP #F1 @McLarenF1 pic.twitter.com/udnqryLI4j
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 3, 2023
Admittedly, the Woking-based team brought significant upgrades to the MCL60 ahead of the race in Austria. However, it was only meant for Norris, as Piastri still had to wait until Silverstone had his upgrades.
Norris and McLaren’s boost after Austria
Speaking about the performance after the major boost, the British driver qualified P4 during the qualifying session, P3 in the Sprint shootout, and ultimately finished the race in P4, earning the team a mammoth 12 points.
In comparison, his teammate Oscar Piastri started the race from P13, finished the sprint shootout in P17, and in the end, crossed the finish line 16th on Sunday. This shows the massive increase in performance brought by the new $150,000 part along with the other upgrades.
YEAHHH BABBYYYYY! P2!!! pic.twitter.com/rGCUPb1IIW
— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) July 8, 2023
Nevertheless, after the much-anticipated upgrade at Silverstone, Piastri, usually unfamiliar with Q1 appearances in F1, has now qualified in P3 as a rookie. It’s surprising to believe the leaps the Papaya team has made in a matter of few races.
Furthermore, with the advancements they made, it is believed this will not only take them closer to Alpine, but also to Ferrari, Aston Martin, Mercedes, or even Red Bull. But for now, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will look to keep their qualification place till the very end of the race since snatching the win from Max Verstappen will not be easy due to RB-19’s mighty race pace.
