Coming off of an impressive fifth place finish in Australia, Lando Norris is looking forward to being back in Imola for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Last year’s race brought success for the British driver, who finished third at the venue. As Formula 1 returns to the Italian track this weekend, he hopes to see the team continue to build on the progress they’ve made so far this season.
“I’m excited to be back in Imola! It was a great race for me last year, scoring my first podium of 2021. We’re not back fighting for podiums just yet, but hopefully we can keep moving forward and get the most out of this weekend.
“Australia was a more positive weekend for us, but we know we still have a lot of work to do to get where we want to be. Let’s keep improving, keep learning more about the car and be ready to take advantage of any opportunities that come up.”
Imola will host the season’s first sprint weekend, in turn featuring the revised sprint points system for 2022. Norris is interested to see the action the sprint will bring, at a track he is particularly excited to run in the new regulation cars.
“The circuit is fast, with some iconic features which should be interesting to tackle in the new cars. The Sprint always adds an extra bit of excitement for the fans so I’m looking forward to seeing how the weekend plays out.”
“With the sprint format returning, anything is possible” – Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo is ready to jump into the race weekend at Imola, after a memorable home race that saw him score his first points of the season with a sixth place finish.
“I’m still on a high after a strong result in front of an incredible home crowd in Melbourne, so hopefully we can keep the momentum going as we head to Imola.”
He hopes to take advantage of the unpredictability that the sprint may bring, and is prepared to maximise opportunities that arise by making adjustments to the car and continuing to work hard.
“With the sprint format returning, anything is possible so we’ve got to get our heads down, keep going with the improvements and extract as much as we can from the car.”
Like his teammate, Ricciardo looks forward to seeing how the car will react to the unique track which brought the McLaren F1 Team a good sum of points in 2021.
“It’s a technically difficult track that’s fast and flowing, so it will be good to see how these new cars get on. Last year we got a nice haul of points in Imola, and I am hoping we can get some more this year.”
In regards to the performance of MCL36, Ricciardo said that there is still much improvement to be done as they continue to progress through the beginning stages of the 2022 season.
“Whilst the weekend in Melbourne was definitely a positive step forward, we still have a long way to go to get the car in the place we want it to be. Thank you to the team for all the work they’re doing on the car, both back at MTC and at the track. Let’s keep pushing!”
Credit: McLaren Media Centre