Lando Norris said his maiden victory at the British Grand Prix was everything he had dreamed of and a special moment to savour at his home race. However, his furious McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, who finished second, was convinced he had been unfairly denied by a controversial stewards’ decision.
Norris, now in his sixth season in F1, took the victory after Piastri had been given a 10-second penalty while leading but the 25-year-old still produced an assured drive in treacherous wet conditions to become the 12th British driver to win their home race since it was first held in 1950.
It is the one grand prix Norris wanted more than any other and he revelled in his success. “This victory is everything I dreamed of,” he said. “Being on top at your home race is very, very special.”
He said that as he sealed the final laps he was enjoying taking in his accomplishment and, most important, ensuring he did not let it slip away from him. “Looking up at the fans and seeing them on their feet, your mind just goes pretty blank,” he said. “I was just trying to enjoy the moment.
“These are moments that none of you guys get to witness. This is only something that I and very few Brits have achieved. It is a selfish moment, in a way, but so special and incredible because it is such a rare thing to feel and witness.
“For me, it is my best win, maybe not the best way to win, but in terms of what it means to me, winning at home, it is very memorable. Apart from winning a championship, this is as good as it gets.”
Norris grew up watching Lewis Hamilton win the British GP, with the seven-time champion holding a record nine victories here. With Hamilton finishing fourth for Ferrari it was an emotional moment for Norris to have achieved a feat to match those who had inspired him.
“Silverstone is where it all started for me, watching Lewis, Jenson [Button], Fernando [Alonso] and it was that wet race here in 2008 when I began watching Formula One,” he said. “Lewis won and I got that picture of him going round and all the fans are standing up, creating an amazing atmosphere. I dreamed of that for many, many years and today I got to see that through my own eyes and live that moment.”
Norris endured one minor hiccup after the race when a photographer fell off a fence in the pit lane on to the celebrating driver. He suffered a small cut to his face but shrugged it off amid the euphoria and has now closed to within eight points of Piastri in the championship battle.
Piastri was penalised for braking erratically during a safety-car restart and thereby forcing Max Verstappen to take evasive action, but while he declined to speak critically of the stewards he was adamant he thought he had been wronged by the decision.
“I felt it was well within the rules, and I did it once already in that race. I don’t really get it,” he said. “I didn’t do anything differently to my first restart. I didn’t go slower. I don’t think Max had to evade me. So I am a bit confused to say the least. I know I deserved a lot more than I did today and when you don’t get the result you deserve, it hurts.”
After serving his penalty, Piastri had asked the team if he might swap places with Norris, which they declined. The team principal, Andrea Stella, noted that he wants his drivers to voice their positions and was happy with Piastri doing so.
“Lando didn’t do anything wrong so I don’t think it would have been fair to swap, but I thought I should ask,” Piastri said. “It doesn’t change much for the championship. I felt I did a good job and I will use the frustration to make sure I win some more races.”
