On Saturday, The Checkered Flag caught up with Lando Norris after his race one win at Silverstone. The win marked his seventh visit to the top step this year and has allowed the fifteen year old to build a fairly comfortable 32 point lead in the drivers championship over Ricky Collard.
After the podium celebrations TCF’s Simon Paice asked him how the race went and if he considered the first corner the most crucial part of the race.
“Normally I haven’t been quite as good at the starts, I have spun up the wheels a couple of times. But I managed to get him [Matheus Leist] off the line and make a bit of a gap,” he said.
“It took Colton [Herta] a few laps to bring the gap down, but for the rest of the 15 minutes he pressured me quite a bit. There’d be points I’d pull away then he’d catch quite a bit and he had a few attempts into the last corner. But I managed to hold him off which was good and a big thank you to the team and everyone.”
As its the penultimate weekend, Norris, and his competitors know the importance of building a cushion going into the final weekend at Brands Hatch. He did though admit he focused on his own race.
“I’m not sure where Ricky finished, like fifth or sixth. Managing to win and get the full 25 points was good, but it’s going to make my race two harder. I’m going to have to maximise that one and then race three, I’m going to need to try and do as good as possible again.
“I’m not going to win the title this weekend, but if we have a strong weekend, it’ll make it a tiny bit easier for Brands which is the aim.”
Despite the praise and admiration the young Carlin driver has received this year, he hasn’t run away with the championship, even falling behind Ricky for much of the season. Norris commented on the format with race two which makes putting consistent podium runs together difficult.
“Yeah, it’s hard because it’s half of how many cars finish that gets reversed. It’s hard, it’s not that long of a race, only 20 minutes, and its full points.
“A lot of championships have half points, but in this its full. It’s benefited Ricky a bit, especially at Rockingham, but overall it’s not that bad and its the way it is sometimes.”
