Lando Norris: Piastri deserved to win in Japan

      Lando Norris believes that his teammate Oscar Piastri deserved to win the recent Japanese Grand Prix. The Australian McLaren driver led until the first pit stop but lost position to Kimi Antonelli due to the safety car coming out at a more opportune time for the Mercedes driver.

      Lando Norris: "I had a good race in Suzuka, but the result could have been better considering Oscar finished second. The team achieved a very good result, and Oscar probably deserved the win if it weren't for the safety car. He was unlucky, but it would have been great if he had won.

      My race was quite challenging. Oscar was driving on a clear track, which gives a significant advantage in Suzuka. When I overtook Lewis Hamilton at the end, I didn't expect to go faster after that. However, I easily started to gain back five or six tenths – it's just incredible how much it helps when you're not driving in 'dirty' air.

      The first weekends of the season didn't go very well for us, but the stage in Japan went much better for the team. We didn't change much on the car, but we're moving in the right direction, so I hope good results await us ahead.

      The fact that we had a strong race is already a positive in itself. Yes, there are things we still need to work on, but overall, it's a good result for McLaren."