Norris Admits After P2 At Sao Paulo Grand Prix: 'As Good As We Can Get Nowadays'

Monday, 06 November 2023 at 15:00

Updated at Tuesday, 02 January 2024 at 20:16

McLaren F1 driver shared his thoughts after finishing second during the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix race at Interlagos Circuit.

Lando Norris was set to start the race in Sao Paulo from P7 after 'another disappointing qualification. However, he moved up one place to P6 after George Russell received a grid position penalty,

What's more, the McLaren driver had an incredible start and moved from P6 right into P2 before the first corner, jumping ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso, and retired Charles Leclerc. The 23-year-old told the media after the race:

"Very good. Couldn’t have gone much better, to be honest. Good pace, similar to yesterday, which is the main thing, and a much better start, in the beginning, to get from 6th to 2nd, which was a nice surprise."

Read also

Russell Labels Sao Paulo 'By Far The Weakest Race Of The Year'

After a great first start, Norris tried to push a tiny bit more on the second start to get at least alongside Verstappen going into the first corner but went a little bit too aggressive on throttle, which set him back.

"But my start yesterday was also good, so I tried to work on it, and it got better. But then, the second start, I was just a little bit aggressive on it."

After the sprint race on Saturday, the 23-year-old said it is a bit unrealistic to expect to compete with Red Bull and Max Verstappen for the first place all of a sudden.

"So I’m still happy, P2 is as good as we can get nowadays and for the time being, but very happy for the rest of it."

There were some points throughout the race when Norris started closing the gap to Verstappen in the lead of the race, but the Flying Dutchman always kept it under control.

"There’s little bits where the tires come back to you a little bit, and then you can push on, but Max always seemed to have an answer to everything, which is a shame. But fair play to him. He drove a good race."