Sainz Praises Lando Norris for Clinching Imola Podium With McLaren F1

The duo of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz will forever be remembered for having one of the healthiest teammate dynamics in Formula One. The two were partners at McLaren for two years. However, even though Sainz drives for Ferrari, their friendship is still going strong, which can be seen in their interactions on-track and off of it as well. The Spaniard even went as far as appreciating Norris’ performance at Imola.

The young British driver had great pace over the qualifying session on Saturday. Norris was even the second fastest at one point, but his lap time was deleted as he exceeded track limits.

He finished third in the race, making it his second podium since Austria from last season. The McLaren driver hopes to carry this form and bring better results for the team this season.

Sainz impressed by his former teammate, Lando Norris at Imola

As quoted by RaceFans, Sainz stated, “It looked like this weekend Lando did a very good job of exploiting the whole car potential. He was on it the whole weekend, especially from Saturday onwards. And he did a good race.”

Talking about his former Woking-based team, Sainz added, “I think the McLaren has its strengths and weaknesses. So what makes it like a really nice fight is that we are quick in very different places on the track and it makes it a very fun battle.”

Andreas Seidl showers praise the young driver

The 21-year-old was impressive even at Bahrain when he achieved P4. He certainly made the Woking-based team happy by getting to the podium at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Team principal Andreas Seidl has stated that he is happy with the way Norris has progressed.

Seidl said, “I’m really, really happy for the entire team. Lando is flying at the moment. He’s definitely made the next step as a driver, so just happy for the whole team that he could score this P3 today.”

“You could see already in Bahrain and in the winter that he’d definitely made the next step both as a driver and a guy. He digested last year’s season, together with his engineering team, in the right way.

“It’s normal also that these young guys make steps, especially in these first years. They have to make it, otherwise they will never make it to the top, but it’s just great how he’s pulling it off. He has the confidence to put the laps in and what he did today again was great,” He concluded.

McLaren currently sit in third place in the constructors’. They hope that they can improve and be even better will be hoping to fight for the title as the season progresses.

Read More: Lando Norris Happy for McLaren Fighting for F1 Podiums on “Pure Pace and Merit”