Formula 1 | McLaren F1: Four places up for Norris and Ricciardo in the Sprint

Lando Norris started 15th in the Austrian Grand Prix Sprint, and the McLaren F1 driver finished 11th, which will be his starting position tomorrow in the race. The Briton is pleased to have progressed and to find a place which could have been his in qualifying without a mechanical problem.

« It was difficult, but ok we gained a few positions » Norris said. « That’s pretty much where we expected to be, the Haas were fast, we got a bit lucky with what happened to Fernando at the start, it took us up a spot immediately »

« The car was okay, nothing special, I struggled with the tire management. The weekend went well. I’m not going to say it was bad. The car was good yesterday, we should have been in Q3, and that’s where we finished today, behind the Haas and the Alpines. »

The Briton was pushed off the track by Alex Albon, which earned the Williams driver a penalty, but he recognizes that this incident had a colossal influence on his race, and in particular on the management of his rubbers.

« It had a big effect on my race. I pushed hard from the start. That’s where you have your best chance. I had to use the tires a lot to try to pass. He pushed me off the track, and I still had to try to pass him for a few more laps and use the tires even more. »

Ricciardo wants to score points in the race

Daniel Ricciardo was just behind Norris at the start of the Sprint, and he also finished behind his team-mate. He is pleased with the positions gained and a little more hope for the race tomorrow, which he will start close to the points.

« We made progress so that’s a reason to smile. We couldn’t go back too far from where we were starting, but we were still able to progress » smiled the Australian. « We gained a few places, I was still struggling with the car, but I was able to overtake cars in front. »

« Maybe with a few more laps we could have fought with the Alfa in front, so it was better. There is still work to do but we can go to bed tonight being more optimistic than ‘last night. »

He went back to the instructions given by McLaren, which consisted in not attacking, and to his radio messages. Ricciardo indeed grew impatient behind Norris and wanted his team to give him a chance to pass the other MCL36.

« After the first few laps I was behind Lando, and once the race settled down a bit we were told not to fight, to hold our positions and see if we could stay in the race. peloton. But I was getting closer with each lap, and the further back I was, the more the conversation was established. »

« I had more pace and I wanted to see if we could fight back, or what would happen if I could get past it. It’s hard to know how much faster you can go. It didn’t was the case, and we’ll see if it was the right thing to do. The points tomorrow are a realistic goal. »