Lando Norris explains how he held off Lewis Hamilton to finish second in British GP
Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton raced one by one in a battle for second place after the safety car; The McLaren driver beat the seven-time world champion to finish second at the British GP; Hamilton talks about how impressed he was with the Norris Race Craft
Last Updated: 10/07/23 12:42 PM
Lando Norris says a crucial set-up decision proved crucial in preventing Lewis Hamilton from claiming second place at the British GP.
A safety car restart in the middle of the race resulted in an exciting battle between the two British drivers.
When the safety car came out, Norris found himself at a disadvantage as Hamilton had insisted on the fastest soft tyres, while McLaren had fitted Norris’ car with the most durable but slowest hard tyres.
But the 23-year-old showed superb defending two laps later to keep Mercedes behind as the pair ensured there were two Brits on the British GP podium for the first time since 1999.
Norris explained, “It was great fun, Lewis was pushing for it.” Sky Sports F1,
“We were together for a long time, back then we were very close.
“I chose a little less downforce [set-up] compared to [team-mate] oscar [Piastri] Was on only because I thought being a little quicker on the straight in racing conditions might save me.
Please use Chrome browser for more accessible video player
McLaren’s Norris in positive mood after finishing second at his home race at Silverstone
“And when you see I put a little bit of momentum on Lewis’ back straight, it saved me.
“Because of that I’ve been able to keep the P2. It’s the little things you probably don’t know about sometimes that make you so glad you made these decisions.
“We were very fast in high speed [corners], The car was in high speed and we were very fast.
“I managed to gap Lewis every now and then in the high-speed and then slow-speed corners and he came back to me.
“If we can work on the slower speeds, we will have a car that can easily compete for the top 10, top five more often.”
Describing the wheel-to-wheel battle on his part, Hamilton said: “I threw it on the inside in turn seven. [Luffield] In the hope that it was him after all, that this is the moment I’m going to make it happen.
“I pressed the overtake button, [so did Norris] So we were both going down the road doing overtaking but he had less pull – he said his wing was short and they just started pulling. So I had to step back.”
Please use Chrome browser for more accessible video player
Highlights of the British GP at Silverstone, with Max Verstappen looking to win his sixth race in a row
Hamilton impressed by Norris’ race art
Hamilton and Norris’ duel on the old pit straight heading into Copse corner evoked memories of their 2021 battle with Max Verstappen, which ended in contact and the Red Bull driver crashed into the barriers.
On Sunday, Hamilton and Norris left each other enough racing room and the seven-time world champion was impressed by his compatriot’s race skills.
“As you can see, he’s naturally very talented and I think it’s great when you can fight such a close battle and trust the driver you compete with,” said Hamilton. are doing.”
Please use Chrome browser for more accessible video player
Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz reflects on British Grand Prix
“And so there was never any element or moment where we thought we were going to come together or anything like that.
“And then that’s what motor racing is. Like [much as] He wanted to catch the other, I wanted to have that other. But it was not to be today.
“So let’s just keep our heads down and keep moving forward and hopefully we’ll find some more battles going forward.”
