BRITISH GRAND PRIX

Introduce himself to the nation at Silverstone

charge saw him pass Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, plus Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez in the Racing Points, to finish fifth, having started ninth.

And while his 13th place at the Hungarian Grand Prix was disappointing, Norris has still been one of the bright sparks of the season so far.

The Bristol-born driver and Carlos Sainz, who is heading to Ferrari next season, have brought welcome positivity to Mclaren.

The team is third in the constructors’ table, scrapping it out in the pack behind the runaway Mercedes racers. “I don’t think anyone expected Ferrari to be in this state,” said Norris.

“At no point last season did we ever consider trying to beat them – they were always out of our league.

“They have taken a big step backwards, in terms of lap time anyway, and we’ve taken a small step forward.

“Red Bull still have a very good package when they nail everything – better car than ours 100 per cent – but for whatever reason, they seem to have a more complicated car. We are at least in a position where we can capitalise on our opportunities on a much more regular basis.

“At the same time, we are not where we want to be. Racing Point have jumped ahead of us.

“If we want to compete for Championships, we are a long, long way behind Mercedes. But we are more competitive, so that is a good thing.”

And expect Norris to be competitive in the British Grand Prix tomorrow and the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix that follows.

The young Brit has a large faithful following among motor racing’s social media population.

Over the next two Sundays, he has the chance to go mainstream.

Norris celebrates third spot in Austria, (top), talking with Carlos Sainz (right) NICO HULKENBERG’S Formula One return for the British Grand Prix as a replacement for Racing Point’s Sergio Perez has already been “special, crazy and wild”. The German, a veteran of 177 races, was with Racing Point when they were known as Force India, and competed for Renault last season before turning to TV punditry. Perez is in selfisolation after contracting Covid-19. Hulkenberg (below), a Le Mans 24 Hours winner who is famous for never reaching the podium in a career that started in 2010, said: “The last 34 hours have been a bit special, crazy and wild. At 4.30pm yesterday I got the call, took the plane here, seat fitted until 2am, 8am this morning into the simulator for an hour, it was a short night. “I got to grips pretty quickly, it’s just getting used to the steering wheel a little bit and the functions.” Hulkenberg was ninth fastest in the opening session and seventh in the second. Lewis Hamilton finished second and fifth, with Lance Stroll topping the time charts. But Alexander Albon’s afternoon ended in the barriers after he lost control of his Red Bull at Stowe.

fight and everyone will see I’ve overcome it all and how mentally strong I was to turn everything around. “The last year I had a lot of mad thoughts. But it ain’t about where the story started or in the middle, it’s about where it ends. The focus now is not what I can earn out of boxing but about fulfilling the potential.”