Lando Norris: “We’ll be aiming to finish the first half of the year on a high”

Lando Norris is hoping to end the first part of the season before the summer break on a high as the Briton looks to extend his unbroken points scoring run to start the 2021 Formula 1 season.

The McLaren F1 Team racer has scored points in each of the opening ten races, with podium finishes coming his way in the Emilia Romagna, Monaco and Austrian Grands Prix, and he has only finished lower than fifth on one occasion, which was an eighth place in the Spanish Grand Prix.

Norris hopes to help McLaren continue their good start to the season as they battle Scuderia Ferrari for third place in the Constructors’ Championship, and with good memories of the Hungaroring, he is ready to go into the summer break with a strong Hungarian Grand Prix weekend.

“I’m looking forward to heading back to Hungary, a track that has good memories for me after my official F1 test debut there in 2017,” said Norris.  “We’ve had a good start to the season so far, and we’ll be aiming to finish the first half of the year on a high, before a break over the summer shutdown.

“The Hungaroring can be a tricky circuit to get right, and we know that it’ll be a challenge to outperform our closest rivals in the Constructors’ Championship. But we’ll be giving it everything to continue building that gap and set ourselves up for a strong second half of the season.”

“We’ll be working hard to maximise our performance on Saturday” – Daniel Ricciardo

Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo enjoyed his best weekend of the season last time out at Silverstone, claiming an excellent fifth place just behind Norris, and he withstood pressure from Carlos Sainz Jr. for much of the afternoon.

Ricciardo, who has won at the Hungaroring in the past during his time with Red Bull Racing, says he will be looking to maintain the momentum from the British Grand Prix with a strong outing this weekend, although he knows it will be important to Qualify well on Saturday with overtaking likely to be difficult on Sunday.

“I can’t wait to go to Budapest, it’s one of my favourite tracks on the calendar and a race that I’ve won in the past as well,” said Ricciardo.  “It’s a very tight and technical circuit with high levels of downforce required on the car, but that just adds to the challenge and excitement for me, it’s a real driver’s track.

“It’s a circuit where overtaking can be difficult, so we’ll be working hard to maximise our performance on Saturday, which should line us up for a slightly easier Sunday. As always, we’ll keep working hard to score as many points as we can and keep pushing in the Constructors’ Championship.”

Daniel Ricciardo wants to maintain the momentum from Silverstone into Hungary – Credit: Steven Tee/Motorsport Images/McLaren F1 Team