Despite Falling Prey to His on Track Brilliance, Lewis Hamilton Showers Praise on Lando Norris as McLaren Finally Get in the Groove

Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris have given us some really intense battles over the years. That being said, seeing a young charger like Norris outdo or even match a veteran like Hamilton can’t go down too well with the 7x champion, right? During today’s Austrian GP, Norris once again pulled a masterclass over the 38-year-old Mercedes driver. But rather than being turned off by it, the Silver Arrows’ talisman showered heaps of praise on the young McLaren ace.

The Woking-based team has been in dire straits since the beginning of the 2023 season. Be that as it may, the upgrades they brought to the Styrian hills this weekend seem to have done wonders for their pace as evidenced by a strong race and qualifying pace showcased by the 23-year-old Norris.

Despite upset, Lewis Hamilton hails Lando Norris

This year’s Austrian GP was a nightmare for Hamilton. He suffered brake issues, the car balance was all wrong and he also got slapped with a 5-second time penalty for track limits violations. To add insult to injury, Lando Norris was pound-for-pound the faster driver as compared to the 7x champion.

After the race, Hamilton took the opportunity to shower heaps of praise Norris’ way. He was quoted as saying, “McLaren, well Lando, did a great job today, they were super quick, wasn’t expecting them to be as fast as they were but we weren’t expecting to be as slow as we were so…”

While Norris will be happy with a solid 5th-place finish, he still does hold a grudge or two for how events unfolded over the course of the race weekend.

Read More: “Lewis Deserves Better”: Toto Wolff Sends Defeated Message to Hamilton to Follow Up With Heartening Request, Leaving Fans Sympathetic

Norris slams FIA and Austrian GP stewards

Norris was amongst many drivers who didn’t really like how the implementation of the track limits rule was done during the Austrian GP race weekend. In fact, during Friday qualifying, a whopping 47 lap times were deleted, and in today’s race, a handful of drivers even picked up time penalties.

After the race, Norris told Sky Sports F1, “People on the outside, like they complain. But they don’t understand how difficult it is to stay within the track limits. It feels tough for some of the things you almost feel you shouldn’t be penalized for.”

Will McLaren latest success act as a precursor for the remainder of the 2023 season?

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