Charles Leclerc commends Lando Norris’s victory and highlights the evolving challenge posed by McLaren this season.
Charles Leclerc has praised Lando Norris’s performance and victory in Miami, the first for the McLaren F1 driver, who has been waiting for it for 110 races.
The Ferrari driver, who finished third this weekend, is “very happy for Lando” and believes the Brit truly deserves it.
“I am really very happy for Lando. You know, even though we all want to compete and win, it’s always moving to see so much emotion in one of your rivals.”
“We all grew up together. I mean, Max and I were more advanced but you always keep an eye on the categories with the younger ones. And I remember watching Lando when he was in KF3, and we all had the same dream of being a Formula 1 driver one day.”
“And then once you make it, you obviously want that first win and I remember my first win and it’s a very, very special moment. So I already told him to enjoy it as much as possible but I don’t need to tell him that, I’m sure he’ll have a good celebration and he really deserves it.”
As for his and Ferrari’s performance this weekend, is there satisfaction to be drawn? He qualified on the front row and finished close behind Verstappen. What encouragement does this bring?
“Well, if we compare ourselves to Max this weekend, it was a positive weekend. However, we cannot completely ignore Lando. And Lando in SQ2, I remember he did an excellent lap where I thought: ‘OK, they are extremely fast.’ And then as Lando said, I think they weren’t as special on Saturday for some reason.”
“But this Sunday, they were really very strong. As I’ve said several times, I think the season will be marked by developments. We need to watch out for McLaren as well as Red Bull in this regard. We have our own coming very soon (at Imola) and it will somewhat define the rest of the season for us. So, we need to work hard and we hope that these upgrades will be as good as theirs and help us make a significant step forward.”
Leclerc Praises Norris, Eyes McLaren’s Rise in F1. Leclerc Praises Norris, Eyes McLaren’s Rise in F1
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