Home win 'more special than ever' for Norris

Lando Norris describes his first home victory at the British Grand Prix as “more special than ever” after winning at Silverstone.

Oscar Piastri overtook polesitter Max Verstappen early on while Norris was running third, but a safety car incident, which saw Piastri penalized for braking erratically and Verstappen spin one corner later, opened the door for Norris. Making no mistakes and keeping the pressure on Piastri before his teammate took his penalty at his final pit stop, Norris went on to win by 6.8s and stand on the top step in his home race for the first time.

“Where do I start?” Norris said. “It means a huge amount. At the end of the day, being on top in your home race is very, very special. And this is where it all started for me. I was watching on TV. I was watching, all those many years ago, Lewis [Hamilton], Jenson [Button], Fernando [Alonso] – I think it was that extremely wet race here, in 2007 or 2008. That's when I really started watching Formula 1.

“I think Lewis won, and I got that picture of him going around and seeing all the fans standing up, and that picture of what [the] atmosphere in Silverstone is like, and dreamed of that for many, many years. Today I got to live that feeling myself and see it through my own eyes, so pretty amazing, pretty special.

“A lot of people, from my friends and family, my brother, my sisters, my mom, my dad, my dad's parents – every person that I could have here is here. So, yeah, more special than ever, 100 percent, and a tough race to do it in as well.”

Norris admits he was full of emotion after the win, but did not rank it as his finest drive having taken advantage of Piastri’s penalty. 

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“No tears. I tried, but no. I don't know. When I get emotional, I don't cry, I just smile. It's pure happiness. It's pure enjoyment of the moment that you're in. I wish I could cry because I think it looks better for pictures sometimes, but no, I just smile instead!

“Like I said before, this is where it all started for me. Seeing this, having all my grandstands here, and even before the race just thinking like, 'Someone's got to win today – I probably have a better chance than most, there's no reason why it can't be me.'

“I always find it at times hard to picture and be too positive prior to races and never say today is going to be my day, but I was actually surprisingly hopeful this morning that today I could do well, and I had the pace when I needed it. I've joined a long list of pretty incredible winners who have won here in the past. Most of them are Lewis! But to join him and, from a British side, to continue the reign of the British here is pretty amazing.

“The last two laps, looking up at the fans and seeing them on their feet and cheering – these are moments that no one really gets, none of you guys (the media) get to witness. This is something that I and very few others, especially Brits, get to witness. It's a very selfish moment, but it's one of the most special, the most incredible, because it's such a rare thing that someone gets to feel and to see and to witness.

“For me, the best win. Maybe not the best way to win. I'm not going say it's my best win – that's not true. But in terms of what it means to win here at home, the want, the desire to do it in front of my own grandstand, my family, my friends, McLaren, His Royal Highness [of Bahrain] is here – to win in front of all of them and to make amends for last year makes it all even more special.”