Lando Norris Confident of McLaren’s Pace at Silverstone, but Cautious of Mercedes’ Threat
Norris Tops Practice at Silverstone
Formula 1’s British Grand Prix got off to a flying start for Lando Norris, who topped both practice sessions at Silverstone, but the McLaren driver remains wary of Mercedes’ pace, particularly once they ramp up their engines. Norris, who finished second at his home race last year, is determined to better that result and got his weekend off to the perfect start, leading the first practice session.
The Briton repeated his feat in the second practice hour, posting a 1:25.549s to emerge over three-tenths quicker than his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. Despite his dominance, Norris is cautious about Mercedes’ threat, with Lewis Hamilton sixth overall in FP2, 0.653s back from Norris’ benchmark time, and George Russell 10th fastest, one-tenth further down.
“A good start to the weekend,” Norris reflected. “Yeah, wasn’t like the cleanest, always cleanest, but I didn’t feel that comfortable this morning. But through the sessions, we made some tweaks and I got in a much nicer window, which is important around here. Because it’s quite on the nose and quite sketchy and pretty high speed, so yeah, tricky, but I’m happy, I think we made some good progress.”
Mercedes’ Threat Looms
Norris believes that McLaren is “pretty tight and even with the Mercedes,” but acknowledges that the Silver Arrows “seem probably just as quick as us.” He suspects that Mercedes didn’t turn up their engines to full power, leaving room for improvement.
With rain forecast for the weekend, Norris hopes that wet weather won’t disrupt McLaren’s rhythm. “I always enjoy both conditions. I would prefer if it was one or the other,” he said. “And honestly, on a home race, you would probably prefer if it was just dry, because we seem like we’re in a good place. I wouldn’t want to go too far away from that. But it’s Silverstone and it’s England. So yeah, I’m kind of ready for everything, but my preference would probably be to stay dry.”
Piastri Cautious of Rivals’ Pace
Piastri, who trailed Norris in second practice, suspects that rival teams were operating on alternative run plans, which could have created an unrepresentative gap between McLaren and the other leading contenders. “I think it’s interesting to see what other people are doing,” Piastri said. “If we can maintain that gap for the rest of the week, that would be good. I’m not sure we will. I think we had a good session, good day. The car felt pretty good. Just a few things to tidy up on my side, I would say. All in all, a decent Friday.”
Like Norris, Piastri is bracing himself for the impact of rain on the weekend’s proceedings, highlighting the importance of nailing the crossover periods to stay on top. “I think it will have a big influence,” he said. “Again, the pace today in dry conditions might not necessarily be that important for the rest of the weekend. I think it’s going to be a tough one for all the teams trying to stay on top of the weather.”
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