Norris Imola’s F1 podium deserves it

Norris took his second F1 podium with McLaren after battling from seventh to third on the grid, holding Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc back behind F1’s leading duo Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

While Norris benefited from Sergio Perez’s spin behind the safety car and the McLaren team ordered him to be released on teammate Daniel Ricciardo, the British driver was good value for his podium.

Norris secured fourth place at the season opener in Bahrain by finishing either second or third in every qualifying over the weekend, despite losing third on the grid due to a track restriction violation on his best Q3 lap.

When asked whether Norris had reached his podium quickly, team boss Seidl said: “I would definitely say that it is a deserved podium today.”

“If you look at the two guys who stood in front of us, they and their teams are the benchmarks in this sport right now, so it’s obviously very, very good to end up in P3.

“It’s also important not to get carried away with this result now. When you look at how quickly Max could drive away in this final stint, you can see that we still have a lot to do.”

Seidl, who helped a self-critical Norris get back on his feet after his qualifying mistake, said he was “obviously very, very happy with what I’ve seen Lando so far this year,” and praised Ricciardo for a solid Run to sixth, although he is still used to his new car.

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“Obviously it was also very encouraging to see how Lando is flying at the moment,” said the German. “So two race weekends in a row where he showed that he has definitely taken the next step as a driver, so I’m very happy with it.

“I’m also happy with the way Daniel did it today. It was not an easy race for him because he didn’t feel so comfortable in the car compared to Lando. We saw a lot today in these difficult conditions. People did it misunderstood and tried to do too much.

“Daniel drove a great race in my opinion and still scored a goal despite the fighting he is still having with our car at the moment. He scored a very important P6 for us. So yes, very happy about that.

“All in all, it was just very encouraging to see this confirmation in qualifying yesterday and in the race today that the entire team, together with our colleagues from Mercedes, did a great job over the winter.”