Lando Norris: I'm going to make up for Piastri crash at Red Bull Ring
Lando Norris says he is looking to wiping the slate clean at Red Bull Ring, where he has raced well in the past - Getty Images /Jayce Illman
It would be an exaggeration to say that Lando Norris's season hinges on the result in Austria this weekend. Whatever happens, we will still be less than halfway through this marathon, 24-race campaign. And as things stand he only trails his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri by 22 points in the championship. Less than a race win. But if ever Norris needed a morale-boosting weekend, it is now.
The British driver joked on Thursday that he had 'almost forgotten' about his calamitous, race-ending crash into the back of Piastri in Montreal last time out until reminded of it by journalists on his arrival in Spielberg. But he was fooling no one. Nor in fairness did he attempt to. Truthful as ever, Norris went on to confess that it had been 'a tough couple of days' for him in the wake of that race.
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'It took me a little time [to get over it] because my team means everything to me,' Norris said. 'They are the people I have grown up with and have given me my opportunity in Formula One.
'I felt very bad for the team and all the people who work at McLaren. It was a tough couple of days. But I have become a lot better at dealing with those moments and speaking to Andrea [Stella, team principal] and my team around me, Zak [Brown, chief executive], and trying to move on as quickly as possible, was very important. So we come here with that in the past and we go again.'
Norris has said that a lot this season. But this time a strong weekend from him feels more significant. The qualifying errors were one thing. But that mistake in Canada has turbo-charged the voices of sceptics who do not believe Norris has the mental strength to cope with the pressure of a championship campaign.
And with Norris's home race coming up next week, where the spotlight on him will be acute – all the more so with the creation this season of a 10,000-seat 'Landostand' at Stowe Corner – the last thing he needs is to head to Silverstone off the back of another poor weekend. Hence why this race is so important.
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Norris said if there was one positive, it is that this weekend's race takes place at the Red Bull Ring, one of his favourite circuits.
Twice he has finished on the podium here, in 2020 and 2021, when McLaren were far less competitive than they are now. And last year Norris was battling for the lead of the race with Red Bull's Max Verstappen, only for the Dutchman's aggressive driving in the braking zone to end his afternoon.
Norris (right) on his way to a third-place finish at the Austrian Grand Prix in 2020 - Getty Images /Bryn Lennon
'If there is any track that I kind of would say I would go to to give myself the best feeling and make myself most comfortable, it's probably here,' he said. 'Just from my stats, my enjoyment of the circuit. Some of the memories I've had.'
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Norris did point out that Red Bull still had an advantage in high-speed corners, of which there are many in Spielberg. 'Max was on pole by like 4½-tenths last year,' he said. 'So we expect to be good, but maybe struggle a little bit in qualifying compared to some of our competitors.'
Both Norris and Piastri – who admitted it was 'far too early' to talk about being given preferential status – still have one potential advantage over Verstappen. The Dutch driver remains on a disciplinary tightrope, one point off a race ban following his crash into George Russell in Barcelona. Not that Red Bull's four-time champion would take any questions on the subject.
'Are you joking?' Verstappen asked when his penalty points situation was put to him. 'Is this like a trap? I'm getting this question every single time, every weekend. Sorry, this is the last one. I have nothing to add.'
Norris probably feels the same about questions regarding his mental strength. There is one way to stop those.
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