“Try racing in 19th and 20th”: Lando Norris takes a cheeky jibe at Lewis Hamilton post-Hungarian F1 GP

McLaren driver Lando Norris took a cheeky jibe at Lewis Hamilton after the latter commented that it was tough for him to not challenge for wins and pole positions this season.

The seven-time world champion started the 2023 Hungarian GP in pole position for the first time in over 18 months and was visibly excited about the achievement. However, he wasn't able to convert into a race win and finished in P4 while Norris finished P2 for the second race running.

Looking at the progress made by McLaren since the beginning of the season, Lando Norris said of Hamilton's pleas:

"Yesterday, Lewis complained about how tough it was finishing outside the first position. Try racing in the 19th and 20th. He’s never done that in his life. So that's the only thing that Lewis hasn't done in Formula 1."

Max Verstappen marveled at the progress made by Lando Norris and McLaren and added:

"Some things are also out of your control. Honestly, I felt sorry for you the first few races because that was really not lovely, to drive. First of all, I think it's quite incredible to see where they were in Bahrain and where they are now, McLaren."

"But I think Lando has done extremely well. But this is also not a surprise to me. It's just good to see finally that when you have a competent car that can do a good job and he's here in P2, twice.

Lando Norris breaks down the improvements from the performance package

The McLaren driver stated that he was happy and impressed with the improvements made by the team's upgraded package. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, Lando Norris said:

"Yeah, three races now with this upgrade package all of which we see clearly been a lot more positive. It is two things. One, it's just more load, just more grip. I go around the corners a bit quicker."

"While doing that, I guess we've tried to improve some of the handling balance issues that we have, which I guess is another part of it. You don't just want a car that has got a lot of downforce but drives terribly."

He continued:

"You need a car that drives well and also has a lot of downforce. We've improved the load side and the downforce and we've improved ever so slightly the handling and with both of them, we've had a good improvement in tyre degradation at the same time. Of course, I would just say let's do another step. Simple as that."

It will be interesting to see where Lando Norris and McLaren finish at the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend.