After McLaren’s first double podium result, Lando Norris offers upbeat outlook on gap with Max Verstappen

Lando Norris is a British and Belgian racing driver currently competing in Formula One with McLaren, racing under the British flag. He is one of the most hardworking drivers on the McLaren team, guiding his rookie teammate Oscar Piastri as well.

This time, in the Japanese Grand Prix, Norris challenged his limits and gave an outstanding performance on the Suzuka Circuit. The team’s remarkable performance as a whole has impressed many fans as well as the entire F1 industry.

McLaren’s Lando Norris weighs in on Japanese GP success

Norris, who a while ago said that Max Verstappen was impossible to defeat, crossed the line in second place behind the Dutchman, while rookie teammate Oscar Piastri secured the first podium of his career in third. The duo were largely unbothered throughout the race, while McLaren executed team orders midway through as Norris displayed a stronger pace than his teammate.

Norris grabbed his fourth podium of the year as McLaren continued its speedy recovery this season. He commented when asked about his performance: “Another amazing day for us, a P2 and a P3,” he said. “I couldn’t ask for any more, the team did an amazing job.

“My start was very good, I almost had Max. But Max is Max, I did have another chance into Turn 2. I tried. But the pace was very strong today compared to everyone.

“We were not close to Max but we weren’t miles away either. So it was a very good day, I’m very happy, especially for Oscar, his first podium in F1. So congrats to him.”

McLaren shines with impressive double podium performance

While many celebrated Red Bull’s comeback on Sunday, McLaren was the only other leading team able to take solace from their qualifying form, with Piastri and Norris proving the Red Bull driver’s nearest challengers ahead of the Ferrari and Mercedes cars.

“The jumps we have made in terms of positions are probably more than we had been expecting,” said Norris to Sky Sports F1.

“I don’t think at any point this season we were going like ‘can we get close to qualifying on pole in certain places? ‘Would we have certain podiums so early in the season?’ It would have been a hard no at the beginning of the year.

“But we were very patient. We knew very early on in the year we were not going to be great but we knew some good things were coming.

“To be quicker than Ferrari, quicker than Mercedes, from having a much worse car I think that is what has been so impressive. The team are doing an exceptional job, I think that’s clear from how much we have improved and are fighting for front rows and things like that. It’s deserved.”

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