Norris: We understand that last try remains

Lando Norris assured that his condition had returned to normal in the final stages of the season and that the effects of food poisoning, which he suffered in Brazil, were over.

Last Thursday, the British McLaren driver missed the FIA ​​press conference due to illness, but found the strength to train on Friday and then took part in all sessions of the weekend. As a result, Lando retired from the race in the second half of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix due to a technical failure, but later admitted that he had even experienced an investment as he was far from being in shape.

Lando Norris: “I don’t think people noticed how bad I was because the hardest day was Thursday. Every day I got better and I tried to hide my condition, but for several days I took all kinds of medicines. In general, I survived, so now everything is normal.

If we talk about the season finale vote, the team still has a lot of strength, we understand that the last effort remains, and to stay ahead of Alpine in the battle for 4th place in the Constructors’ Championship, we have to achieve a lot. But this is possible only on condition that our team shows good results and the opponents do not succeed.

But after a terrible weekend in Brazil, the situation is what it is, although Alpine has had bad weekends, for example in Singapore, where none of their cars made it to the finish. By the way, what happened in Sao Paulo was McLaren’s first double retirement, probably since 2017 or 2018. Of course it’s a shame that we had such problems at such a late stage in the season, but there is still a chance to get the rectify the situation.

It’s not easy, but we’re going to do our best and hopefully next season we can talk about the results in a more positive way. However, I don’t know yet what the new car will be, although it is clear that the team needs to make improvements in many areas. But we are working hard at the base in Woking, and I believe in McLaren, that we will be able to make positive changes next year.

For now I’m not thinking about it though, because I’m fully focused on the upcoming race, then I’m on vacation and I hope to have a good time. And in February I will think about next year.”

Lando also spoke a few words about Daniel Ricciardo, who is leaving McLaren after two unsuccessful seasons: “Of course we will miss his cheerful character. I know that Oscar Piastri is also Australian, but he is much calmer than Daniel. However, I think when Daniel first came into Formula 1 he was also calmer. In general, Riccardo is a very experienced professional, so we will probably feel a certain difference when we start working with Oscar.

But all racers are different, so there will be a difference anyway. With the departure of Daniel, we will lose something, but with the arrival of Oscar, some new positive aspects will appear in the work of the team. That’s how Formula 1 works. We have a great relationship with Daniel, so it’s a shame he’s leaving, because he was a big help to me and the team as a whole, so of course we’re very grateful to him.”