Lando Norris heads to his home Grand Prix at Silverstone this weekend with a realistic shot at victory for the first time. Norris challenged for the win in Austria last weekend before a disastrous collision with Max Verstappen.
The McLaren driver will be even more motivated before the race after seeing a shot at 25 points slip away. He attempted to line up a pass on Verstappen coming out of turn three on lap 64, but the Red Bull superstar hit him as he tried to shut the door.
Norris was forced to retire with the damage he sustained in the incident. Verstappen, meanwhile, still managed to pick up fifth, extending his championship lead by 10 points, despite pitting with a puncture and receiving a 10-second penalty.
They’re poised to do battle once again at Silverstone this weekend, with the Dutchman potentially in for a hostile reception. Norris briefly got past him at the start of the race last year before the vastly superior Red Bull won out.
It came at the start of a resurgence for McLaren following a transformative mid-season upgrade. Norris eventually finished second – his first Silverstone podium – while teammate Oscar Piastri was fourth.
McLaren haven’t won the British GP since back in 2008, when Lewis Hamilton took what he regards as his finest-ever victory. Still, they’re the second most successful team at the event with 14 wins, behind Ferrari (18).
Lando Norris could have limited parts available for British Grand Prix
In addition to a puncture, Norris sustained damage to the bodywork of his MCL38, forcing McLaren to call it a day. While it wasn’t a particularly large impact, it could still have lasting effects.
BBC Sport’s Andrew Benson writes that there may be ‘repercussions’ for Norris ‘in terms of parts availability’. The teams are approaching the end of the season’s first tripleheader following back-to-back races in Barcelona and Spielberg.
The good news for McLaren is that their Woking HQ is only around 80 miles away from the circuit. If they need to deliver some fresh spares, then it shouldn’t take long to do so.
After this weekend, the teams will enjoy a two-week break before another back-to-back in Hungary and Belgium. Then comes the summer break, which will be a welcome pause to the relentless schedule.
Martin Brundle says Max Verstappen did something ‘alarming’ after Norris crash
Verstappen and Red Bull have both come under fire for their reaction to the crash. Martin Brundle says the world champions ‘damaged their credibility’ by attributing blame to Norris on the team radio.
The Sky Sports F1 pundit also found it ‘alarming’ that Verstappen seemingly tried to cut off the Englishman when they rejoined the track. That particular moment didn’t come under investigation.
The impact on the relationship between the two drivers remains to be seen. One journalist says they didn’t so much as look at one another in the media pen afterwards.
Verstappen has previous for colliding with a rival at Silverstone. Hamilton took him out of the race at Copse on the first lap of the 2021 race, earning himself a 10-second penalty in the process.
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