Lando Norris is confident that he will be able to take on the Mercedes and the Red Bulls by the end of the season – but does not expect to be on the podium at the British Grand Prix this weekend. McLaren driver Norris, meanwhile, insists it was an honor to have complimented Lewis Hamilton in the middle of the last race in Austria.
Norris kept Hamilton frustrated for 15 laps at the Red Bull Ring during the Styrian Grand Prix, but eventually the Mercedes driver passed the young Briton.
After finally overtaking the McLaren, the seven-time world champion Hamilton said on his team radio: “Such a great driver, Lando.”
Norris crossed the finish line ahead of Hamilton for his fourth career podium after qualifying for the race in second, where he started in the front row for the first time.
And the 21-year-old told Sky Sports F1 after the race, after echoing Hamilton’s message, “I love you Lewis. It’s cool. Having that kind of respect when he says that means a lot.”
The former F3 Champion further opened the comment, thinking ahead of Formula 1’s return to Silverstone this weekend that it was unexpected to receive so much praise from his compatriot.
Norris also added that the comment means more of Hamilton, as only Ferrari icon Michael Schumacher has won as many drivers’ titles as the 36-year-old in the sport’s entire history.
He explained, “It was cool to hear from Lewis. More than any other driver in F1. It was in the middle of the race, which I would never do. And it was a little strange because you don’t expect to hear it.
“But it means more that he said it after he was over and I ran into him instead of him falling behind over some problems.
“So it was weird – but cool at the same time, because it was the first time I’ve made more than one corner against Lewis.
“It’s a different feeling because you know he’s the best. And he’s the best for a reason. He can attack and defend well, but I feel like I was able to stop him for 20 laps last week. “
Norris is confident that he can take on drivers like Hamilton in the Mercedes and the championship leader Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.
He added, “Now I know I can do it the next time I’m in the same position.
Norris doesn’t want to downplay McLaren’s chances in his home race, but says they are “still far from” consistently hitting podiums and beating Mercedes and Red Bull to race wins.
“People expect a lot now,” he continued. “Even more because of Austria and third place. Now people think we will get on the podium and fight Mercedes again – which I have my doubts about.
“I think we can do well. We don’t have to downplay it too much. But although we are closer than ever, we are still far from it.”
“There are examples from last season when Pierre [Gasly] won and you may be lucky. You can suddenly find yourself in this position because others have crashed or made mistakes.
“That has to happen so that we can win a race, we cannot win it directly. But things like that can happen. It’s understandable that the expectations are high – they can be high – but not high on the podium.”
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