Lando Norris has expressed his hope that his McLaren teammate and fellow championship contender, Oscar Piastri, will receive an even-handed and positive reception from the home crowd at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this weekend.
With the Drivers` Championship increasingly appearing to be a contest between the two McLaren drivers, the pair, known for their “papaya” colours, are currently separated by just 15 points. This follows Norris`s recent victory over the championship leader Piastri at the Austrian Grand Prix, a win that narrowed the points gap ahead of Norris`s home race.
Given his status as a title challenger, Norris is anticipated to receive particularly enthusiastic support at Silverstone. This year marks the first time a grandstand is named after him, the `Landostand`, a sold-out section at Stowe corner accommodating 10,000 fans.
During Sunday`s post-race press conference, where they sat together after McLaren`s fourth one-two finish of the season, Piastri was asked if he had any concerns about facing potential hostility from the crowd at Norris`s home event.
Norris was the first to respond, stating he certainly hoped that would not be the case.
The British fans are normally very accepting for all of us and especially for us as McLaren. So I think the first point should be for all the fans to embrace everyone and to support everyone.
Piastri, who has been with the Woking-based McLaren team since 2023, commented that he has always felt well-supported by the Silverstone fans, though he acknowledged it would be natural for Norris to have a greater following this weekend.
A couple of years ago they were chanting my name in the crowd, so that was unexpected. I`m not sure I`ll quite get that again, which is fair enough. I feel like the fans in general this year have been a bit nicer to us. We didn`t even have Max Verstappen fans booing us today, so that was a nice change. They`ve always been very accepting of me. Obviously, I race for a British team, and I think they`re big fans of everything papaya and that includes both of us. I`m expecting there to be a lot more Lando fans than me fans, but that`s fair. It`s his home race as well, so I think it`ll be fine.
Officials for the British Grand Prix also do not anticipate any issues.
Stuart Pringle, Silverstone`s managing director, expressed his confidence. He stated, “Everybody loves good sport here at Silverstone and that`s a great battle at the front amongst those two team-mates.” He added that they have “knowledgeable fans here, people who love the sport.” Pringle highlighted Silverstone`s consistent delivery, saying, “Seventy-five years of running racing here and it continues to give us great racing with this modern generation of cars.”
`A Race I Particularly Want to Win`
Norris`s impressive victory ahead of Piastri at the Red Bull Ring suggests he is a strong contender to win again at Silverstone, a circuit where he has achieved second and third place finishes in the last two seasons.
However, a promising opportunity for a home win was missed last year due to strategic errors during a race with changeable weather conditions.
A year later, as he prepares for his seventh British Grand Prix, Norris shared his excitement.
It`s the best race of the year. I`ve got my own grandstand and everything, so very excited.
He elaborated in the press conference that he doesn`t feel any increased pressure, despite it being the race he wants to win more than any other. He explained this desire doesn`t negatively affect him; rather, it brings “a bit more of a smile” when he wakes up. He views elements like having his own grandstand as positive distractions that provide “more reasoning for different things,” rather than adding pressure.
