After a wonderful weekend at the Austrian GP where the McLaren duo finished 1-2, the team is heading into the F1 British GP weekend on a high.
The British McLaren driver topped the FP2 session with three purple sectors, leading to an impressive 1:25.816. The championship leader, Oscar Piastri, appeared to struggle a bit more during this session but managed to finish P4. 0.470s behind his teammate. Both McLaren drivers were consistently in the top five in both practice sessions.
Norris claims “nothing to be too proud about just yet” after topping FP2 at F1 British GP
While the home hero was satisfied with a good Friday, he still appeared wary of the rapid pace of the Ferrari. When asked if the soft tyre run felt particularly good today, the Brit explained:
“The soft was a very strong lap. I think also just in general the Ferraris have been very, very quick today and they shall be tomorrow. I think we have a bit of work to do, to be honest. It looked maybe a bit too good today. Like always, Ferrari always catch up into P3 like they did last weekend. Yeah, I would say pleased with today, but nothing to be too proud about just yet.“
Norris was referring to the Austrian GP last weekend, that had the Ferrari drivers finishing P3 and P4 in the race. In addition to the race pace, Ferrari had their strongest qualifying of the season in Austria with Leclerc grabbing an amazing P2 and Hamilton a solid P4.
This weekend, the McLaren driver believes the team still has more work to do if they want to keep Ferrari from catching up too much. Still, the McLaren car looks to be the strongest.
Aims for pole position
A question regarding of factoring in possible changes in the weather and cooler conditions was asked. The Brit expressed that the team always tried to prepare the best they can to factor in every possibility, claiming:
“Certainly. We do that every weekend, that’s part of the job to factor in all the conditions possible. What’s the wind going to do, what the temperature, humidity, rain , whatever. We always do that, that’s common work, but yeah still some trickiness out there. It was not like it flowed quite as easily as what I would have liked, but it was still a strong lap to do in FP2, but not strong enough at the minute.”
The 25-year old recently added a new element to his list of achievements, this being his very own grandstand at Silverstone. In 2025, the British driver took over the Stowe corner, painting it with the neon colors of his helmet, and filling it up with his fans.
When asked about the new addition of the ‘Lando stand’ at his home grand prix and if he is going give the fans pole position tomorrow, the McLaren driver happily exclaimed:
“That’s my target. I’m working on it. It’s incredible, I would look at it every lap, every single lap, it’s hard to miss. Every lap I’m forced to look at it, but it’s also just a great thing to see. And if it’s distracting me, it’s distracting others, so it’s working perfectly, keep it up!” the Brit added jokingly.
Norris has yet to take pole position at his home grand prix, however he looks to be a strong favorite for pole this weekend. The British racing driver has secured three pole positions so far this season, and is undoubtably hungry for more.
Piastri optimistic despite “messy” FP2 session at F1 British GP
The championship leader, Oscar Piastri, stays determined that McLaren will be strong this weekend. However, similarly to his teammate, Piastri believes Ferrari could be strong competitors during both the qualifying and the race.
The Australian expressed his take on the practice session, stating that they have the potential this weekend. Piastri also mentioned the competition the team might have from Ferrari, stating:
“A good first day, I think. Ferrari have looked very competitive, but I think we looked alright. In FP2, the soft tyre was a little bit messy for me, but the potential is definitely there and the long runs looked pretty solid as well. An interesting first day and a lot of competition.”
When asked about the performance of Ferrari this weekend, the Australian expressed:
“It was a bit of a surprise. They looked good. Both in the qualifying runs and the longer runs as well, so I think they’re in the fight this weekend, which is interesting to see.”
Additionally, the Aussie was asked about the tricky wind today in which he responded:
“It was very tough. I think it’s only going to get worse through the weekend as well, so that’s going to make things pretty interesting. It spiced things up a bit, especially with so many high speed corners here, you really feel it a lot so that was making things pretty tough.”
The fight for pole
The Australian driver has been immensely strong this F1 season, leading the championship in his third year of Formula One. Piastri has already grabbed four pole positions in 2025, and five wins.
Piastri was lastly asked if he believes himself to be in the fight for pole again for qualifying on Saturday. The championship leader was optimistic and showed his belief in himself and the team by expressing:
“Yeah, definitely. The pace is definitely there, and I think if I can piece things together it’ll be very competitive. But yeah, just not a great lap, and with these tyres around here you pretty much get one shot. So my second attempt was pretty decent considering the tyres. I’m pretty relaxed.”
With both drivers aiming for pole position, it will likely come down to putting everything together at the right moment and avoiding mistakes. The fight for pole on Saturday could very possibly be between the two McLaren cars, as it has been for majority of this season. It will be intriguing to see which McLaren comes out on top this time around or if anyone else will be able to challenge them.
