Lando Norris heads to Silverstone reenergised – with trusted engineer his guiding light
For Lando Norris, so despondent this season at so many junctures, this is exactly what the doctor ordered. At one of his most successful circuits, the Briton breathed new life into his title challenge in the Styrian mountains. The challenge now is to keep the momentum rolling into his home race at Silverstone this weekend.
Eager to bounce back after his horrid error in colliding with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in Canada, Norris dominated every Austrian Grand Prix session he participated in. While he stepped back for Irish rookie Alex Dunne in FP1, Norris topped the timesheets in FP2 and FP3. No doubt, he was a man on a mission.
Thankfully, and in contrast to a plethora of races so far in 2025, he also maintained his composure at the end of qualifying, setting a table-topping time more than half a second quicker than Charles Leclerc in second. In F1 spiel, that's a sizable gap. It was Norris's best lap of the season.
But the opening to the 70-lap grand prix was met with a robust challenge from Piastri, who leapt up to second at the start. The Australian spent at least 15 laps right on the gearbox of his teammate. Lap 12 saw the lead momentarily change hands before Norris came swooping back.
It was tremendous race-craft and, ultimately, Norris came out on top. In fact, this time it was Piastri who pushed the limits too much, locking up his tyres and almost hitting his teammate at turn 4. Piastri was promptly told by his engineer Tom Stallard, over team radio, that the move was 'too marginal.' He added: 'We can't do that again.'
Yet throughout this early-race battle, and towards the end of the grand prix when Piastri looked to launch a second attack, Norris was guided – almost coached – by the trusted man in his ear. Will Joseph, Norris' long-term race engineer, was a key cog in Norris' third win this season.
'Make turn 6 apex, it makes it harder for the other car,' Joseph said, amid the heat of battle at the start. With data and timing screens unavailable to the driver in the cockpit, Joseph and the rest of the McLaren pit-wall were vital sources of information. And while the advice may seem blatantly pinpoint, in a sport of marginal gains, that can make all the difference.
Towards the end of the race, Piastri had halved the gap to his teammate from four to two seconds. Clearly anxious, Norris issued a plea on the radio: 'I need some pace, please help.'
This time, Joseph seemed unconcerned: 'The main pace difference is high speed, hopefully linked just to traffic.'
Indeed, with Fernando Alonso and Gabriel Bortoleto fighting for top-10 positioning up ahead – but a lap down – the traffic in the end thwarted any potential Piastri move. Norris negotiated the two cars with ease, and took the chequered flag.
TOP-10 - WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Norris thanked his right-hand man and the rest of the team over team radio. Joseph's underlying message was clear: 'Follow the process.'
Norris undoubtedly had a guiding light throughout his victory and while such precise coaching over radio is rare to hear for a frontrunning driver, the Briton acknowledged afterwards he is willing to digest as much helpful information as possible.
"As much as I like to not have any radio and just do my own thing and concentrate, when you've got some quick guys behind you or ahead of you, there's nothing wrong with asking for a bit of guidance and a bit of help every now and then,' Norris said afterwards.
"I'm just trying to utilise the guys I've got around me. My engineers, my performance engineers, they're looking at a lot more data than I can see.
'Obviously, I'm the one in the car, but when you've got a guy catching you and there are some corners where you can improve, then I want to know those things. I would say that's nothing more than just general improvements, but also me trying to be a bit more accepting of some help sometimes."
So to Silverstone we go, with the gap at the top now down to 15 points from 22. The British Grand Prix will represent the halfway stage of the season and, with Max Verstappen's retirement on Sunday, it is increasingly looking like a two-horse race for the world championship
Cheered on by having his own group of 10,000 supporters – the 'Landostand ' – at Stowe corner this weekend, Norris has the perfect opportunity to find some consistency. He should be the favourite for a first home victory; as long as he can handle the pressure.
'It's a place I want to win more than anywhere else,' Norris said of Silverstone. 'But it doesn't change anything. It just puts a bit more of a smile on my face every morning when I wake up.
"There's pressure in every race. There's pressure to win today, to be on pole yesterday. I don't think I can put myself under any more pressure."
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