by It would be an exaggeration to say that Lando Norris’ season in Austria in Austria depends this weekend. Whatever happens, we will still be less than half of this marathon campaign with a 24-breed campaign. And when things stand, he only pursues his McLaren teammate Oscar Piatri by 22 points in the championship. Nothing. Less than a racing victory. But if Norris ever needed a moral boosting weekend, it is now.
The British driver joked on Thursday that he had “almost forgotten” when he had to put his back in Piatri in Montreal last time in Montreal until journalists were reminded of it on arrival in Spielberg. But he was not wrong. He tried it in fairness. Norris truly drove on as always that after this race it was “a few days” for him for him.
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“I took a little time [to get over it] Because my team means everything to me, “said Norris.
“I felt very bad for the team and all the people who work on McLaren. They were a few hard days. But I got much better in dealing with these moments [Stella] And my team around me, Zak [Brown]And the attempt to continue as soon as possible was very important. So we come here in the past and go again. “
Norris said a lot this season. But this time a strong weekend feels more important. The qualification errors were one thing. This mistake in Canada has the voices of skeptics who do not believe that Norris has the mental strength to cope with the pressure of a championship campaign.
And since Norris’ home race is coming up next week, where he is saved in the Stowe Corner in the Stowe Corner this season-the last thing he needs is to drive from another bad weekend to Silverstone. Therefore, this breed is so important.
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Norris said that if there was a positive one, the race of this weekend takes place in the Red Bull Ring, one of his favorite circles.
He finished twice here in 2020 and 2021 on the podium when McLaren was far less competitive than today. And last year Norris fought for the leadership of the race with Red Bulls Max Verstappen only to drive the dutchman in the brake zone to end his afternoon.
Lando Norris (right) on the way to third place in Grand Prix in Austria in 2020 – Getty Images /Bryn Lennon
“If there is a track that I would somehow say, I would go to give myself the best feeling and make myself most comfortable, then it is probably here,” he concluded. “Only from my statistics, my joy in the circuit. Some of the memories I had.”
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Norris pointed out that Red Bull still had an advantage in high -speed events, of which there are many in Spielberg. “Max was on pole by four and a half tenths last year,” he said. “So we expect that we are good, but maybe a little bit in qualifying compared to some of our competitors.”
Both Norris and Piatri – who admitted that it was “much too early” to talk about the preferred status, still have a potential advantage over. After his crash against George Russell in Barcelona, the Dutch driver stays on a disciplinary Gretrope. Not that Red Bull’s four -time champion would ask questions on this topic.
“Are you joking?” Verstappen asked when his penalty situation was transferred to him. “Is it like a trap? I get this question every time, every weekend. Sorry, that’s the last one. I have nothing to add.”
Norris probably also feels about questions about his mental strength. There is a way to stop them.
