Norris on battle with Leclerc: 'It took long enough!'

Lando Norris enjoyed a gritty race-long battle with Charles Leclerc, but admitted that it took a lot longer to get past the Ferrari driver than he expected.

Starting from the front row of the grid, the 25-year-old would have been hoping to challenge the Red Bull of future race winner Max Verstappen for the lead through the opening sequence of corners.

Instead, the British driver fell into the clutches of Leclerc, who was able to streak past Norris on the exit of Turn 1 on the quicker soft compound of tyre.

From that point onwards, the pair engaged in a battle for second place that lasted almost the entirety of the 56-lap Grand Prix, with multiple position changes and brilliant driving from both.

Norris The Hunter, Leclerc The Hunted

The first handful of laps were certainly frustrating for Norris, as he struggled to get close enough to Leclerc to create an overtaking opportunity down either of the two long straights at the Circuit of the Americas.

At one point, the McLaren driver was forced to back off from the Monegasque to prevent the tyres and internals of his MCL39 from overheating.

By lap 13, Norris was back within DRS range of Leclerc, and after another eight painful laps starting at the gearbox of the Ferrari he finally made it through into second place.

Unfortunately, he once again fell behind Leclerc after extending his opening medium tyre stint, a slow 3.8-second pitstop bringing him out a fair few seconds down the road.

Norris clearly had the faster car however, and he closed in rapidly to the back of the Ferrari driver. After yet another long stretch stuck just behind, the McLaren driver cooled off his tyres for a few laps for one last attempt in the final few tours.

He dived up the inside into Turn 1 on lap 51 of 56, but Leclerc was wise to the move and switched back underneath to reclaim P2. But later on the same lap, Norris darted to the inside of the Ferrari down the back straight and this time made it stick, crossing the line in second.

Norris Heaps Praise on Leclerc

Speaking after the race, Norris expressed relief at getting past Leclerc in the dying moments.

He said: "Finally. Finally - it took long enough. It was a good battle with Charles, he fought hard. It was tough.

"We did everything we could. I thought we had it in an easier way after we got ahead and we went much longer. I expected a slightly easier second attempt to get through but it wasn't the case.

"Charles drove a very good race, it was good fun. Good battles. So I had to take second, not a lot more we could have done today," stated Norris.

The Briton claimed that his decision to back off for a few laps before attempting a last charge was what allowed him to overtake Leclerc.

• Read Also: Piastri confused by lack of pace: 'Just didn't gel'

He added: "I really started to struggle with my tyres.

"So I backed off for quite a few laps, went again, and it worked. So good strategy, some good driving, and a fun race."

With Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri finishing in a lowly P5, the gap in the Drivers' Championship has closed to just 14 points. Who will win the Title?

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