Silverstone is "a place I want to win more than anywhere else," claims Norris
Ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix, local driver Lando Norris claimed that the iconic Silverstone track is "a place I want to win more than anywhere else"
Having secured pole position for last Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix in dominant fashion, Lando Norris got a great start to maintain his lead. His team-mate Oscar Piastri also got off from the line well, and managed to pick off Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc through Turn 1.
After the start, it was a two-horse race to the flag. Piastri was within DRS range of Norris for the entire first stint, even overtaking for the lead, but immediately lost out as Norris regained his place. McLaren then elected to pit Norris for fresh tyres, leaving Piastri out on old tyres for a few laps.
Norris got the undercut advantage and wound up with a six-second lead through the second stint. They pitted one lap apart for the final stint, and while Piastri managed to get withing two seconds of his team-mate, the time ran out for him to get even closer.
Asked whether he expects a hostile reception from the British fans at this weekend's Silverstone race, Lando Norris reckoned that he hopes "that part's not going to happen. The British fans are normally very accepting for all of us and especially for us as McLaren.
"So I think the first point should be for all the fans to embrace everyone and to support everyone. Certainly, for me, I don't think there's any more pressure. Of course, it's a place I want to win more than anywhere else, but it doesn't change anything.
"It just puts a bit more of a smile on my face every morning when I wake up. It probably distracts me in a good way more than anything. Now I've got my own grandstand, and I've got more reasoning for different things.
"More of a positive distraction, I would say, more than a pressure. There's pressure in every race. There's pressure to win today, to be on pole yesterday. I don't think I can put myself under any more pressure. That doesn't change anything.
"More just something to look forward to, to enjoy every day, enjoy every lap, enjoy the experience, because it's still for me an experience to have my own grandstand, to have so many of my fans there supporting me, cheering me on. Very excited for it. Kind of want to go there now, but I could do with a good sleep as well," concluded Norris.
His team-mate Oscar Piastri also shared his opinion : "A couple of years ago they were chanting my name in the crowd, so that was unexpected. I'm not sure I'll quite get that again, which is fair enough.
"I feel like the fans in general this year have been a bit nicer to us. We didn't even have Max Verstappen fans booing us today, so that was a nice change. They've always been very accepting of me.
"Obviously, I race for a British team, and I think they're big fans of everything papaya and that includes both of us. I'm expecting there to be a lot more Lando fans than me fans, but that's fair. It's his home race as well, so I think it'll be fine.
