13 August 2023 , 18:59
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Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have praised the “incredible” job that Lando Norris has done in reversing McLaren ’s fortunes.
The team did not earn a podium finish in any of the opening nine races of the season. However, they did manage to stage a recovery before Formula 1 was paused for the summer break.
They now sit fifth in the overall Constructor Standings, albeit still a long way behind runaway leaders Red Bull. That recent renaissance is in no small part down to British-born driver Norris.
He finished fourth in Austria before securing back-to-back podium finishes for the first time in his career at Silverstone and in Hungary. The improvement has certainly been noticed by a couple of Norris’ rivals.
Perez is among those who has been full of praise. He said: “I think from where they were in Bahrain – or not even in Bahrain [just] before Silverstone – the step that they made these last two races on very different tracks layouts, I think it’s impressive. And I do expect to see Lando a lot more up here. They’ve done an incredible job.”
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Meanwhile, his Red Bull teammate and runaway championship leader Verstappen has also been left impressed. “First of all, I think it’s quite incredible to see where they were in Bahrain and where they are now, McLaren. But I think Lando has done extremely well,” the Dutchman said.
“But this is also not a surprise to me. It’s just good to see finally that when you have a competent car that you can do a good job and he’s here in P2, twice. It doesn’t need a number even.”
Lando Norris celebrates his second-placed finish in Hungary (Getty Images)Where do you think Norris will finish in this season's standings? Share your predictions in the comments below
Norris was unfortunately unable to continue his excellent recent form at Spa as he finished seventh, with Verstappen claiming yet another win. The Brit will certainly be aiming to secure his first-ever F1 victory in just under a fortnight’s time as the campaign resumes with the Dutch Grand Prix.
Ahead of the return, Norris has claimed that he is still not fully comfortable with his current car. He said: “It's not just my liking, it's also Oscar's [Piastri] because we have pretty similar comments.
“Same as last year, even when Daniel [Ricciardo] was driving, we had a lot of similar comments, every day, every weekend. It's difficult to describe. You have to drive it quite one way. But it's also a way that I don't want to drive, or like to drive.
“I don't like to drive the car the way that I have to drive it now. I feel like it isn't to my strengths at all.”