Norris proud to give everyone at Silverstone ‘something to cheer about’

Lando Norris was all smiles after claiming his first ever win at a British Grand Prix, stating that he is "proud" to give something "to cheer about" to family, friends and fans.

A race victory looked doubtful for the British driver after Saturday's Qualifying session. The McLaren driver took too much kerb through the Vale chicane on his final flying lap and lost time, ceding pole position to the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

Starting from third on the grid, Norris was forced to look behind rather than forwards in the opening phases as fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton challenged him for the final podium spot. All the while, the leading pair of Verstappen and Oscar Piastri established a gap at the head of the field.

Norris kept his cool and soon enough found himself stuck to the gearbox of a slow Verstappen, who had no grip on rapidly-wearing intermediate tyres. He passed the Dutchman in the run up to Maggotts, and set his sights on teammate Piastri in the lead of the Grand Prix.

Norris Profits Off Piastri's Contentious Penalty

Despite briefly losing second to Verstappen after a slow pit stop, Norris swiftly got back past the defending Champion and closed in on Piastri.

This was after Piastri had been handed a ten-second penalty for stomping on his brakes too hard during the second Safety Car restart, which almost resulted in a collision between the Australian and Verstappen.

Piastri held the lead until he served his penalty in the pits on lap 44, conceding P1 to Norris. The British driver held on to win in front of a fervent home crowd, 6.8 seconds ahead of his bitter teammate.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the Grand Prix, Norris expressed delight at finally winning an F1 race at home.

He said: "It's pretty incredible. I think tomorrow morning is going to be the best realisation moment, you know, when I wake up.

"But this is incredible. I never knew how to picture it before. It's just you want to win, and I want to win here more than any other place in the world," Norris stated.

The 25-year-old expressed that his win wasn't without difficulty.

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He continued: "But then you always got to go out and do it. And it was a tough race, a lot of obstacles. As British as you can get for a race here at Silverstone.

"Enjoyable, challenging, and therefore more rewarding than ever in a way. First of all, we had my family here, my brother, my sisters, my grandparents. Everyone, so to win it together is an unbelievable feeling."

Setting Expectations

With a disappointing result in Canada still fresh in his mind, Norris chose to supress his excitement at a potential win at home until it actually happened.

He stated: "I always want to get more excited at times. I just never want to get expectations too high and not succeed in delivering. You know, that's for me the worst feeling.

"Especially when you've got so many fans, I've got my grandstand here, my family, my friends. You've got McLaren, all of their family and friends. When you're driving, you don't realize that pressure, but it's still like the post effect.

"It's the 'did you give something for them to cheer about or did you not?' And we did, and that's almost the thing that makes me most proud, is I gave something for all of them to cheer about through the whole weekend. And it made it all worth it, which is really incredible," concluded Norris.

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