Norris: I’m not going to make it easy for Max.

Lando Norris, analyzing the main episodes of the Spanish Grand Prix, in which he took second place, emphasized that he was satisfied with McLaren’s work, except for the fact that he personally did not act in the best way at the start.

Q: How would you summarize the results of a race in which you finished second?
Lando Norris: I didn’t do well enough in the race simply because we should have won it. I think our car was the fastest. But you understand that I simply missed the win at the start, and then, in the first segment, I couldn’t stay ahead of George Russell.

I just didn’t get off to the best start, and it cost me a lot of money later. Because of this I don’t think it was possible from the 2nd turn to do much more than I did. At the same time, in my opinion, we implemented the ideal tactics together with the team, and I am satisfied with the way we acted.

Q: Tell us in more detail what happened at the start: did you let the drive wheels slip too much? Or did something else happen while accelerating towards Turn 1?
Lando Norris: No, I want to say that from the very first moment I got off to an even better start than Max Verstappen. But the next acceleration phase didn’t go so well, and I don’t know why. Max overtook me, but if it hadn’t been for George I think I could have still stayed in front in Turn 1.

But George attacked us both, and even if I had managed to get a few yards further at the start, it is unlikely that more could have been done. The acceleration for Turn 1 is very long and he took advantage of the slipstream behind Max and my cars. I’m almost certain George would have taken charge anyway – that happens sometimes in Barcelona.

He started well and I had nothing to stop him. At the 2nd corner I had to settle for 3rd position, because if I had braked a few meters later I think I would have carried everyone off the track. The decision to slow down and let George take the lead was the right one. But I still have to analyze everything together with my engineers.

Question: After the race in Montreal you also said you should have won. Considering that, unlike Canada, you now had the fastest car, you’re probably a little more upset?
Lando Norris: Doubtless. In Montreal we didn’t have the fastest car, that’s for sure. Mercedes was the fastest there. But today we couldn’t take full advantage of our speed advantage and if I had had a better start we should have won.

Q: But we saw an exciting battle on track, especially your duel with George on lap 35 was interesting, when you went five corners abreast and passed him, moving up to 2nd position. Can you share what it was like?
Lando Norris: In Turn 1 I forced George to go on the defensive – I think that then allowed him to move forward. He defended himself, but I managed to cross the lines, and the same can be done in all other bends, as they are quite wide.

In general I was ahead of him in Turn 3, but what happened in Turn 4 surprised me: all day long I had strong understeer in this corner, while the front wheels of the Mercedes held the track very well there.

George was able to get through at a higher speed, and on this bend he returned to the outside radius, allowing me to cross the lines again at the exit of 5th and stay ahead of him entering 7th. It was a good duel, but I lost a lot of time, so I couldn’t overtake Max at the end of the distance. But the battle was intense, literally on the edge, although I can’t say we tried to show mutual respect.

Question: The next stage takes place in Austria. Last year McLaren managed to turn the tide of the season there, and what is your mood now for the race at the Red Bull Ring?
Lando Norris: Now that I have a confident attitude every weekend, the car works fine. We are constantly fighting for pole position, and if we miss it we only lose a few tenths – what more could you want? I think if we can increase the speed even a little bit, it will make our lives a little easier.

The Austrian circuit is significantly different in configuration, there are high speeds and in this regard we still have to work to keep up with Red Bull. Of course their car can handle faster corners better, but other than that we are doing well.

I have achieved my best results at this circuit before and I am already looking forward to seeing many McLaren fans in the stands in Austria.

Q: You were named driver of the day, and I don’t want to have any doubt about it, but Max is winning race after race, and when he got on the podium, a small part of the crowd in the stands started whistling. Don’t you think fans sometimes underestimate his achievements?
Lando Norris: Hard to say. Although, to be honest, this behavior of the fans does not make them happy. But people are always dissatisfied with something, this is typical for any sport. Some you support, others you don’t. This has always been the case.

Max wins every race and people can’t like that because it makes Formula 1 less interesting. Although the one thing is he does an excellent job at what he does. But there’s a fine line here.

At the same time, I believe that everyone involved in our sport greatly appreciates this and treats Max’s achievements with respect – that’s how it should be. And those who are not well versed in motorsports, apparently, simply cannot realize this, because they do not understand what efforts need to be made to achieve such results and work as Max works.

Q: Can you tell us how you forced Max onto the grass at the start? Would you agree that this has caused both of you to lose some momentum?
Lando Norris: In such cases it is always difficult to give estimates. I can’t take a tape measure and measure perfectly how much space there is on the track. At the same time, I’m not going to make his life easier. There was plenty of room there. I think it’s just racing.

Q: You said the team used the ideal tactics. But don’t you think you shouldn’t have stayed on track for so long during the first stint?
Lando Norris: No. It was because of this that closer to the finish I had a good advantage in terms of tire condition – my tires were four, if not five laps younger. However, it is difficult to say whether we acted correctly or not.

But you understand that thanks to such tactics it was easier for me to stay ahead of George, with whom we fought for half the race. And only when I was able to get around him, I could act on the track as I needed and try to overtake Max.

We may have made a few mistakes in other areas, but I think the best tactics were chosen from all the possible options.