McLaren driver Lando Norris turned a lot of heads with his performance in Imola. The Brit managed to impress everyone with his pace on Saturday. Even better was his performance on race day as he took home his second F1 podium.
According to Norris, there was a brief moment after the race restart where he had the opportunity to take the lead. However, he did not take that opportunity for a specific reason.
At the time of the restart, Norris was behind Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. With the help of his soft tyres, the McLaren driver managed to brush past Leclerc’s Ferrari and had Max in front. Verstappen eventually pulled away from the pack but Norris claims that he could have led the race for a few laps.
He said, “I could have overtaken Verstappen, I think. Maybe not, but I could have at least tried.
“But I would not finish on the podium, I think, if I tried. I would have killed my tyres and Leclerc would have got past me.”
It was a wise decision on Norris’ part to save his tyres. He almost managed to even keep Lewis Hamilton behind him despite his old softs.
Norris managed to finish in P3, which was deserved following the weekend he had had. He is now heading into the third race with 27 points, almost twice that of his teammate Daniel Ricciardo.
As of now, his primary focus is the upcoming race in Portimao. Just last year, he managed to finish P8 on the same track. However, it seems that this year could very well be a lot better.
Do you think Norris will be able to compete with Verstappen and Hamilton in the upcoming race? Let us know in the comments below!