Lando Norris believed he should have finished sixth in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prixbut a time penalty for exceeding track limits meant too many times he was forced to settle for seventh.
the McLaren F1 team driver was handed a five-second time penalty for the track limit offense at the Red Bull Ringand after serving his penalty in his pit stop, he found himself behind Hass F1 Team‘s Mike Schumacher.
Norris felt he had the pace that deserved sixth, but the penalty hurt him and cost him the place to Schumacher. However, he reckoned the pace of the car was solid and to get some decent points after a tough weekend was good for the team.
“A positive day, we went forward a good few positions and scored some decent points,” said Norris. “I made a couple of mistakes with the track limits and ended up with a five-second penalty, which probably hurt us.
“I should have been P6 but, apart from that, a solid day. The pace in the car was reasonable and we got the points that we wanted, so happy in the end.
“We just need to keep improving and keep pushing for next time. Big thanks to everyone for working so hard at the track and back home, we made a good recovery from Friday to score some decent points”
“I think we did well to get what we could today” – Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo also brought home points for the team on Sunday in ninth, but the Australian felt he had the chance to have been at least one place higher.
The Australian struggled with tire management throughout the race, particularly with his left-front tyre, and as a result he was struggling for pace compared to his team-mate.
Despite this, he was still able to take home two points for the ninth, but he felt he had the pace to beat Haas’ Kevin Magussen for eighth.
“Obviously the target was points,” said Ricciardo. “I think, as a team, we’re happy with that. It’s a lot better than where we were Friday, so to get double points is good for us.
“I was struggling with the left-front on the first stint as I’d had a lock-up into turn one, and put us a bit on the back-foot. So it didn’t feel as good as yesterday. We then struggled more with the front, particularly front-left, even without the flat-spot, but I think we did well to get what we could today.
“I would have loved to have got Magnussen, but we’ve got to take what we can today. More points, bit of damage limitation, so pleased with that.”
Daniel Ricciardo ends ninth in Austria – Credit: McLaren F1 Team
