Norris hopes to get his car in one piece for FP2: 'Don't jinx it!'
F1 News
Lando Norris will not take part in the first free practice session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. McLaren decided to complete one of the session in Mexico where the Briton has to 'give up' his seat for a driver that is yet to complete two Grands Prix in the competition. Norris talked about Pato O'Ward getting his chance in Mexico.
No Norris in FP1 in Mexico
Similarly to Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris will not drive his car in FP1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix. A driver who is actually a couple months older than Norris, Pato O'Ward will sit in the MCL38 that session.
"[He's] Testing my car, yes," the current number two in the drivers' standings began. "I mean, Pato, I watch every weekend that I can out in IndyCar. He's always probably one of the most exciting guys to watch for different reasons. I'm happy for him. Obviously it's the rule that he has to drive the car."
He continued: "Ideally I wish to be driving, but it's the rule and it's a nice place for him to come and drive in front of his own fans. So yes, happy for him. We'll be helping him as much as possible. But his job is to go out there and do what we would have done, what I would have done. So for him it's not about going out and getting first place, because that's silly. But doing the job for the team and helping us try and win the championship."
Because there will be a Pirelli tyre test in free practice two, O'Ward has to gather important data, as Norris and McLaren are competing for both the drivers' and constructors' championship at the moment.
Norris hopes to avoid Antonelli situation
O'Ward, who in this season finished in P5 in IndyCar driving for Arrow McLaren, will take part in his third free practice session ever in F1, having driven before in Abu Dhabi in 2022 and 2023. Now, he gets the chance to be in a Formula One car at his home Grand Prix.
"It’s tough. That's life. That's Formula 1. He's been given the opportunity in the first place, so it's not just about him. He's playing a bigger role. He's not going to be in Formula 1 this year or next year. His role is helping us as a team, that's his job. And he gets a cool experience of coming in, performing in his home crowd. We could have picked another track for him to go and do, so I think he should be happy that we picked Mexico," Norris added.
Recently, not every young driver could make it through the entire 60 minutes in an FP1. More than a month ago, Andrea Kimi Antonelli's session in Monza did not go so well, after he crashed out in Parabolica 10 minutes into the session. Asked what he would if O'Ward would repeat that, the Briton laughed, saying: "Don't jinx it!"
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