Despite Losing the Lead to Max Verstappen, Lando Norris Gets a Special Shoutout From Dad for One Special Trait That Took Him to the Podium

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen have more than just their Belgian heritage in common. A significant part of their journeys and careers in Formula 1 has been their fathers’ influence. Considering how much they’ve both grown over the years, their fathers would be proud of them. While Jos Verstappen is a man of few words, Adam Norris doesn’t shy away from praising his son every opportunity he gets. And following Norris’ second-place finish at the British GP, his home race, Adam Norris had only good things to say about his son.

McLaren brought the second round of upgrades to the MCL60 at Silverstone last weekend as part of its major upgrade overhaul. The updates have helped McLaren progress from fighting at the back of the midfield to competing at the front in a matter of weeks. And owing to the upgrades, Norris qualified in P2 behind Verstappen for the race. After a bad start from the reigning world champion, the McLaren star overtook him to take the lead into Turn 1. But after maintaining the lead for four laps, Max Verstappen reclaimed the lead on Lap 5.

After the race, in the post-race interview, Verstappen said, “Lando was a bit kind to me on Lap 5,” suggesting that the young Brit didn’t put on much of a fight to hold off Max. But Adam Norris revealed the reason behind it and praised his son for his decision. Featuring on the F1 Nation podcast, Adam was asked what he thought of Lando letting Max by without fighting him. He said, “I think Lando knew he [Verstappen] was going to keep first, so therefore, wanted to make sure he would finish the race properly rather than wasting his time destroying his tires.”

Even though McLaren came close to Red Bull in qualifying, there’s still a lot separating the two when it comes to race trim. Red Bull is far superior, and Lando knew it. So instead of using his tires to defend against Max, he saved them for his fight against everyone behind him. Adam added, “Getting second would be great. Later on in the year, we’re going to go for first. That’s my belief.” McLaren’s upgrades seem to be working well, and while doing so, they’ve also helped highlight Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri’s talent that Verstappen and Norris couldn’t help but appreciate.

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Lando Norris and Max Verstappen laud Oscar Piastri for his performance

Conversations in the cool-down room are something new F1 fans have gotten to witness this year, and boy, are they entertaining. After the race, Norris and Verstappen sat down and watched the highlights, commenting on everything that happened. Considering how Piastri performed—finishing fourth—Norris mentioned the timing of the safety car robbed his teammate of a podium.

Verstappen came under threat from Piastri at the start as well. After Norris overtook him, Piastri was looking to follow suit, but Verstappen just managed to stay ahead. He said, “Mate, I went side by side with Oscar into Copse. I was saying ‘don’t understeer, don’t understeer.’” Needless to say, both of them were pretty impressed by Oscar’s performance and gave him the credit he deserved.

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Do you think McLaren can continue this form throughout the season?

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