Lando Norris has responded to Jolyon Palmer's claim that he has benefitted from luck this season.

Palmer, had claimed that the 9-point deficit to teammate Oscar Piastri doesn't tell the full story, and that the gap would have been a lot greater if not for the Briton benefitting from a series of issues affecting the Australian.

"I mean I did roll the dice, yes. I've certainly had a little bit of luck," Norris told reporters at Zandvoort when asked about the claim. "I've also been unlucky but that's life. I can't choose those things.

"I am lucky that I have been with McLaren for the last seven years," he added. "I could not be with McLaren as well for the last five years.

"I've made good decisions I like to believe," he continued, "and I back myself to make good decisions along the way.

"I've improved as a driver this year," he insisted. "I've had a car which I've found a lot trickier to drive just as much as everyone complains when they have a car which doesn't suit them or drive as well as they'd like. I had that a little bit at the beginning and made some good steps forward, I have some good races.

"I wouldn't have won in Budapest if I didn't improve on those myself and that wasn't luck," he said.

"That's hard work, a lot of dedication with my engineers and my team - both at the track and away from it. I would say I've had a little bit of luck here and there but everyone needs a little bit in their life but so has every single driver at some races here and there.

"I have also made good decisions, kept myself out of trouble, stuck by the rules. All of those things are part of being a racing driver. At times, they've given me points so that's also down to me doing a good job at times.

"I wouldn't have won in Budapest if I didn't improve on those myself and that wasn't luck," he said. "That's hard work, a lot of dedication with my engineers and my team, both at the track and away from it.

"I would say I've had a little bit of luck here and there," he admitted, "but everyone needs a little bit in their life, but so has every single driver at some races here and there. I have also made good decisions, kept myself out of trouble, stuck by the rules. All of those things are part of being a racing driver. At times, they've given me points so that's also down to me doing a good job at times.

"Could I at times have made maybe better decisions? I think so. If I had that thought a little bit more at the time. "Probably the main one was China sprint qualifying. I think my lap was good enough for pole until the final hairpin where I locked up. If I had that thought just before the braking zone. I lost eight points there.

"If I go back to Canada, if I could re-run that and just be a little bit smarter and not take as much risk, could I have not lost quite a few points there? Yes!

"I wouldn't say I regret those moments. Do I wish it changed? Do I wish it was better? Do I wish I could do it again? Yes but at the same time I don't regret making those decisions at the time because I think that's me. That's life and that's the way it goes sometimes."

LATEST NEWS

more news >

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

Click to go to the main galleries section

READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by dejan, 10 minutes ago

"Of course luck plays a big part of success (in pretty much any field but especially in sports). You have to have the skills to succeed but having just skills and doing the work a lot of the time is not enough. In F1 we've had plenty of past examples, including Kimi Raikkonen and Nigel Mansell who would have had a lot more than just a single title but for a bit of luck."

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by West York, 1 hour ago

"Jolyon Palmer - he was very lucky to get a F1 seat, so he must know something ;)"

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

Norris responds to "lucky" claim

LATEST NEWS

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST IMAGES

POST A COMMENT

Post your comment

READERS COMMENTS

Share this page