Lando Norris intrigued by second chance ‘double header’ opportunity

Lando Norris says he cannot wait to get the 2020 F1 World Championship season started after a wait of more than three months as the Briton looks to kickstart his second season of F1 with a strong opening effort.

With McLaren enjoying positive move back towards the front of the field in 2019 with its run to fourth in the constructors’ standings, the team is keen to continue that progress for 2020 ahead of what is expected to be a particularly tight battle in the F1 midfield.

With this in mind, Norris is happy the season is starting in Austria having picked up one of his best results last year with a run to sixth position. Moreover, with two back-to-back races at the Red Bull Ring, Norris is intrigued by the prospect of getting a second chance to do things differently the following weekend.

“I can't wait to get back into a Formula 1 car, it’s been a long time coming! This break has been the longest I’ve ever taken since I started racing at seven years old, I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve been working hard throughout this period away from track to stay sharp and ready to go racing again.

“I’ve been training at home a lot and spending plenty of time on my simulator. I’ve also managed to get some karting and F3 sessions in with Carlos over the last few weeks to help get race ready as best I can.

“I’m pleased we’re getting started again in Austria, it’s a great, fast, track and we performed well there last year. It will be an interesting challenge to race there two weekends in a row, but also a great opportunity to analyse how the first race could have panned out differently and adjust our strategy for the second.

“I expect all of the grid will be feeling a bit rusty going into FP1, but I’m sure we’ll all be back up to speed when it comes to qualifying on Saturday. It will be a real shame not to have the fans at the track as we feel their support, but safety is the priority and we’ll be doing everything we can to give them a good show.”