BUDAPEST, Hungary – Lando Norris brushed off the suggestion that McLaren is under added pressure to win the Hungarian Grand Prix due to its recent missed opportunities.
Since Norris’ win at the Miami Grand Prix at the start of May, McLaren have squandered numerous chances to win F1 races.
Norris will start ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri at the Hungaroring after securing the team’s first front row lockout since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix.
He dismissed the notion that it was more vital than normal for the team to convert that into a win on Sunday.
“I mean, I don’t think it’s, like, important. Every single quali is important. Every race is important. So it’s not all of a sudden I need to do it and I need to prove my point. I don’t,” Norris said.
“We’ve done the best we could in every race. I think we’ve shown great pace and great opportunities. And I know we’ve missed out on some. We don’t need to get back into all of that stuff. But yeah, I would love to have a clean, strong weekend.
“From yesterday already, we were very strong in the beginning in FP2, FP3 quali now. So it would be nice, yeah, just to have a nice Turn One and see what happens from there. But I’m not expecting it. I’m expecting still a difficult race with Oscar and Max behind. But every one is important. Every time we’re trying to maximise every place, every point.
“And yeah, the more we can try to get back on Max, the more we as a team can get on Red Bull and other constructors, the better. So no point or emphasis on trying to beat a particular someone or something. It’s just go out and do what we do because we’re doing a good job.”
After his win in Miami, there is a case to be made that Norris could have won in Imola, Canada, Spain, Austria and Great Britain.
McLaren is 78 points behind Red Bull in the constructors’ championship.
Hungary will be a big opportunity to eat into that gap, with Max Verstappen starting third and teammate Sergio Perez down in 16th.
Despite qualifying as best of the rest behind McLaren, Verstappen was not happy with the balance of his car.
Asked what he could do to beat the McLarens, he said: “Errr … I don’t know at the moment. But what can I do? We’ll try the very best, try to have a good, stable balance with the car. And if I find that that I can follow them … But I don’t know.
“Honestly, my long runs have been ok, but nothing fantastic or special.
“I think it’s better to be realistic than sitting here and spreading false hope, but we’ll see tomorrow. It is what it is.”
Source: www.espn.com