Ill, Lando Norris experienced “one of the most difficult races” of his career in Barcelona

Suffering from angina throughout the weekend, Lando Norris still managed to finish the Spanish Grand Prix in 8th place. A small feat considering the extreme conditions he suffered on Sunday.

Published on 23/05/2022 à 11:56

Dorian Grangier

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Ill, Lando Norris experienced “one of the most difficult races” of his career in Barcelona

Lando Norris had to fight illness and heat to finish in the top 10 © Florent Gooden / DPPI

Pilot a Formula 1 under 35°C and being sick: Lando Norris had the terrible experience at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Briton was not in the best condition throughout the Catalan weekend. Diagnosed with angina, “tonsillitis” to be exact, the pilot McLaren had to battle against the elements on Sunday. Despite the heat and pain, Norris got into the points zone, in 8th place. “ Today (Sunday) was difficult. I felt really bad before the race because I was suffering from tonsillitis. Combined with the high temperatures, this made this race one of the hardest races I have ever done. »

Symbol of the difficulties encountered in Spain by Lando Norris: the elimination in Q2 during qualifying. A failure while his teammate Daniel Ricciardo, regularly behind him on Saturday, managed to secure a Q3. “ I was a little behind this weekend as most of my energy was spent fighting this illness. I had to miss a lot of debriefing sessions, which compromised my weekend. I was definitely not well prepared for the Grand Prix. Knowing this, I'm really happy to have finished the race with important points for the team. »

Norris is already “ready to leave for Monaco”

Norris' 8th place masked a rather complicated weekend for McLaren. Daniel Ricciardo, who started 9th, was never on the pace and ultimately failed in 12th place. The Woking team had however brought a plethora of developments for Barcelona. With only 4 points scored, McLaren saw the gap with Alfa Romeo et Alpine be reduced by a few units in the championship.

According to Lando Norris, the team is still learning from its developments. “The team worked really hard to deliver performance, so I'm happy we were able to get something out of the weekend. We will look at the data over the next few days to see if there is any additional performance we can extract from the car. Make sure we are ready to leave for Monaco. » Last year, the Briton won a podium in the streets of the Principality. Will he be able to repeat the feat? Answer this Sunday, May 29.

ALSO READ > Spanish Grand Prix – AUTOhebdo notes

Dorian Grangier

A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.

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