Lando Norris was satisfied with a solid performance on the opening weekend of the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup. The 16-year-old left Monza with third and fourth place finishes without being at his very best. But the Josef Kaufmann Racing driver was happy to get points on the board and vowed to come back even stronger.
The ADD Motorsports-supported racer said: “It was a good, solid start. My opening laps and pace were up there and I’m happy to start this campaign off with a podium and points. “I didn’t manage my tyres very well in the second race and I lost some pace and places late on. But it’s something to work on and learn from and I’ll come back stronger because of it.”
Lando, who took the MSA Formula Championship title last season and New Zealand Toyota Racing Series title in February, won two races on the opening weekend of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 last time out.
This weekend, his pace was again good during practice on Friday and although he didn’t quite get a perfect lap in during the tight first qualifying session, he still managed to finish second.
The second qualifying session was interrupted by a red flag and with just one and a half tenths separating first and seventh place, Lando could only finish fifth in the time available. He got off to a good start in the first race, holding his position until about half way through the first lap. But after turning hard into a corner, the leader made a mistake almost forcing Lando to come to a standstill and allowing another car to overtake.
He was then overtaken on a straight and dropped into fourth, spending the middle part of the race battling hard with the cars immediately in front and behind, losing time on the leaders.
By the time he managed to get back into third there wasn’t enough time left to make up the ground lost earlier and he had to settle for third place.
Lando got off to a brilliant start in the second race, making up two places to get into third by the first corner.
He then moved between second and third several times before getting a bit of a gap in second.Unfortunately, he struggled in the final part of the race after pushing too hard on his tyres early on and finished fourth, disappointed not to get on the podium again.
He added: “After last week’s performances, it was a little disappointing, but I didn’t do too bad.
“To get a podium and a fourth place shows I’m not too far away and with a few adjustments on better tracks, I know I’ll be back up there in weeks to come. There’s a long way to go.”
