“Racing at Silverstone is always a special occasion” – Lando Norris

Lando Norris goes into his home race at the British Grand Prix on the back of an unbelievable triple-header, where he claimed his third Formula 1 podium.

Norris has undoubtedly been one of the star drivers this season, consistently topping the midfield and being capable of fighting with Red Bull Racing and the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team. The British Mclaren F1 Team driver will be hoping to continue his extraordinary form into Silverstone, in front of 140,000 home supporters on Sunday.

After the horrific and disgusting ordeal Norris experienced when leaving the EURO 2020 final, where he was mugged and had his one of a kind watch stolen, the driver can be assured that the British fans will be fully behind Norris this weekend to give him as much motivation as possible.

Norris will do his best to put the horrible event in the back of his mind, and fully focus on extending his run this weekend of being the only driver this season to finish in the points at every race. It may not be as easy this weekend with the brand new Saturday sprint race for all the drivers to deal with.

Overall Norris feels good going into his home grand prix on the back of another podium, the Mclaren driver is also excited to see so many fans back in the grandstands.

“Being on the podium for the third time this season was a great feeling. It was a well-deserved result for all the hard work the entire team has put in so far this year and during an intense triple-header. Hopefully, we can carry this energy into mine and the team’s home grand prix this weekend, although we need to be realistic in what we can achieve as Silverstone is a very different track. That being said, we’ll still be trying our hardest to score as many points as possible.

“Racing at Silverstone is always a special occasion with it being my home race. Welcoming back the British fans – in the safest way possible – will be amazing to see. I’ve missed them a lot especially doing two races there last year behind closed doors. Seeing the grandstands full and everything feeling a bit more normal is something I’m really looking forward to.

“We also have the first sprint qualifying event of the season. We’ll be straight into the action on Friday with qualifying before the sprint on Saturday, so we’ll be prepared to hit the ground running. It’s something new for everyone and should make for some close and exciting racing that I’m sure the fans will enjoy!”

“I’ve taken the time to fully recharge my batteries” – Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo goes into his team’s home race on the back of one of his best performances yet in his Mclaren. The Australian has been slowly progressing at every round so far this season, and will be hoping that he can put in another strong performance this weekend to please the Mclaren fans.

Ricciardo is very excited like Norris to see so many fans back, the Honey Badger got a taste of the British fans last weekend at Goodwood, where he drove Ayrton Senna’s Mclaren MP4-5B. Despite his Goodwood appearance, Ricciardo has made sure to allow himself time to re-energise since the triple-header, a physically demanding period for both man and machine.

“This weekend sees us heading to Silverstone for the team’s home race. It’s going to be a special moment for us all as we get to see the fans back in those grandstands – it’s been a long time coming. We’ve slowly seen more and more fans back at track as the season has progressed and when it’s been safe to do so in certain countries. I think everyone has missed the noise and atmosphere that only the fans can provide.

“At the British Grand Prix we’ll try out the new sprint quali format for the first time, which will be an exciting challenge. It’ll be interesting to mix up the weekend and I’m sure it’ll provide plenty of opportunities to put us in a good position for the race on Sunday.

“After the three back-to-back races in France and Austria, I’ve taken the time to fully recharge my batteries, and spent some time at Goodwood driving Senna’s MP4-5B, which was just awesome. I’m ready to go again at Silverstone and keep pushing after a more positive weekend in Austria where I gained a bit more confidence in the car. We just need to continue to make the steps to translate those improvements into lap-time, so we can challenge for good points.”

Credit: Steven Tee/ Motorsport Images/ Mclaren F1 Team