McLaren sporting director Gil de Ferran has described Lando Norris’ run to P6 as “spectacular”.
The British rookie scored the team’s best result since Fernando Alonso’s fifth place in Melbourne last year as his impressive start to life in Formula 1 continued in the desert.
After making Q3 in qualifying for the second straight race, he would recover from a scary start to come through the midfield and capitalised on Renault’s late drama to finish ‘best of the rest’.
“I was blocked going into Turn 1, then was on the outside of another car and we touched. I went off and through the gravel, losing quite a few places,” he explained
“The pace after that was really strong. I caught up pretty quickly but struggled a bit in the DRS train that formed but as soon as someone lost DRS, I could get them.
“From my side, P6 is a really good job!” Lando added. “I’m really happy and pleased to have scored my first points and also for McLaren, after all of the team’s hard work over the winter.”
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Then De Ferran praised the maturity of the 19-year-old on a performance which “had the right blend of determination, aggression, pace and tyre management”.
“Lando was nothing short of spectacular today,” he continued. “After getting tangled up early in the race and losing some positions, his drive to sixth place was perfectly judged.”