Praise for 'accomplished team leader' Norris: 'That's made it impressive'
F1 News
- Corwin Kunst
Lando Norris impressed James Hinchcliffe at the Mexican Grand Prix. The 24-year-old Briton has sometimes been accused of not making the most of his weekends, but at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez, there was absolutely no question of that. Former IndyCar driver Hinchcliffe heaped praise on Norris.
"Norris had one goal going into the weekend: beat Max Verstappen," Hinchcliffe stated to Formula1.com. "The controversial finish to their battle in Austin still top of his mind, Norris knew he had a great opportunity into the first turn to make a move and demote the Red Bull driver down a spot. It didn’t happen at the start, but once Sainz cleared Verstappen it was Norris’s chance to make a move."
Max Verstappen defended strongly and refused to give up his position. He got two 10-second time penalties. "Verstappen throwing caution (and the rule book) to the wind, launching it long twice in a lap, sending Norris off track in both cases."
Norris attacking Leclerc
Once the McLaren driver had taken over third place, he was able to start chasing the Ferrari's who were currently in first and second place. "Double penalties followed for Verstappen, but it was Norris’s effort to claw back the massive gap to the leading Ferraris, eventually forcing Charles Leclerc into a mistake and giving up P2, that made the drive so impressive.On a day that was make or break for his drivers’ title chances, and a damage limitation day for McLaren’s constructors’ battle, Norris performed as a consummate team leader with a champion-like drive," said the 37-year-old Canadian.
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton