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Norris pleased with Azerbaijan weekend despite losing out to Sainz

19:42, 28 Apr 2019

byJake Williams-Smith

Lando Norris says it was a positive weekend for McLaren despite the fact he lost out to teammate Carlos Sainz in the race.

Norris finished eighth having started in seventh, one place behind his Spanish teammate after a difficult but promising race for the British team.

Speaking after the race, Norris highlighted the positives and pointed to difficulties with the tyres as being the main factor as to why he struggled so much.

“Overall, it’s a good race for us as a team," he said.

"A double-points finish, the first one of the year, which is a good thing. The whole race was pretty good.

"My start was probably the best I’ve done all year and I made no mistakes. I lost the tyres a little early in the first stint so boxed onto the Mediums, had a good middle stint and we took the decision to try the Softs after the VSC.

“The thinking was that the other tyres, the Medium, while not worn, had done a lot and wouldn’t be able to turn on as well.

"It looked like they did, so it was the wrong decision. It could have worked, maybe if it had been a bit colder, but it didn’t and that’s just something we have to look back on. It always happens in racing! A good weekend altogether.”

Despite finishing behind his teammate in Baku, Norris is still ahead in the driver's standings but slips to ninth in the championship following Sergio Perez's sixth place finish.