Now Norris is youngest Brit to finish in top three
LANDO NORRIS eclipsed Lewis Hamilton as the youngest British podium finisher in history by claiming third place with a brilliant last lap at the Red Bull Ring. The 20-year-old McLaren driver pulled off the quickest time of the day to pip the man he replaced in the record books by just 0.2sec. ‘I am speechless,’ said Norris, who grew up in Somerset. ‘There were a few points where I thought I had fudged it up. I didn’t give up. I had to put in some strong laps at the end and, as you can see, I am out of breath.’ Norris, who started third, hollered in delight over the radio and embraced McLaren chief executive Zak Brown when he stepped out of the car. He beat the mark set by Hamilton, aged 22, on his debut at Melbourne in 2007. Norris is also the third-youngest podium man ever, behind Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll. He was denied the usual razzmatazz that comes with the post-race celebrations. With restrictions for Covid-19, the ‘podium’ was reduced to three socially-distanced plinths on the start-finish straight. The champagne was placed on the track and sprayed from further away than is customary. Norris, who barely touches alcohol, poured the bottle over his head. ‘I need to get another mask because it is full of champagne,’ he said. ‘I cannot breathe. I am really struggling.’ A replacement mask was found, and he added: ‘I am just very happy to be on the podium — and for that record to come along is an added bonus, but I don’t go out of my way to break these records. ‘It comes with hard work. My first podium is not the sole objective of why I am here in Formula One. I want to win races.’ Norris, starting his second season, secured the result with the help of a brave move on Racing Point’s Sergio Perez before banging in the all-important fastest lap, 1min 7.475sec. The result was a tonic for McLaren, a sign of their continued improvement. With Carlos Sainz fifth, the Woking-based team are second to Mercedes in the constructors’ table, albeit only at the first count. Norris added: ‘I would love to say we can do this again next week. We had a little bit of luck, but we have a good car and we’ve kicked the season off with a great result.’