An emotional Lando Norris said he was in dreamland after winning the British Grand Prix for the first time.
Norris followed in the footsteps of Sir Stirling Moss, James Hunt, Sir Jackie Stewart and Lewis Hamilton as he became the 12th British driver to triumph at his home race.
The 25-year-old capitalised on Oscar Piastri’s 10-second penalty at a wet Silverstone to take his fourth win of the season to reduce his rival’s lead at the summit of the world standings from 15 points to eight.
Norris’ celebrations were briefly halted after a photographer fell off a fence in the pit lane and landed on him. McLaren confirmed that Norris was fine but had suffered a small cut to his face.
“This victory is everything I dreamed of,” said Norris. “Being on top at your home race is very, very special.
“From a British perspective, I join a long list of pretty incredible winners – most of them are Lewis (Hamilton has won the British Grand Prix a record nine times) – so to join him and continue the reign of the British at Silverstone is amazing.
“Looking up at the fans and seeing them on their feet, your mind just goes pretty blank. The main thing is just don’t f*** it up. I was just trying to enjoy the moment.
“But these are moments that none of you guys get to witness. This is only something that I, and very few Brits have achieved. It is a selfish moment, in a way, but so special and incredible because it is such a rare thing to feel and witness.
“For me, it is my best win, maybe not the best way to win, but in terms of what it means to me, winning at home, it is very memorable. Apart from winning a championship, this is as good as it gets.”
Norris was just eight when Hamilton won in the wet at Silverstone by more than a minute after a drive for the ages.
Hamilton, 40, had to settle for fourth on Sunday after he came up just short in his bid to land a first podium in Ferrari colours.
Norris continued: “Silverstone is where it all started for me – watching Lewis, Jenson (Button), Fernando (Alonso) – and it was that wet race here in 2008 when I began watching Formula One.
“Lewis won and I got that picture of him going round and all the fans are standing up, creating an amazing atmosphere. I dreamed of that for many, many years and today I got to see that through my own eyes and live that moment.”
Norris’ voice broke as he celebrated his win over the radio.
“There were no tears,” insisted Norris with a smile. “I tried. But when I get emotional I don’t cry, I just smile and it is pure happiness. I wish I could cry because I think it looks better for the pictures!”
Norris’ championship appeared in tatters after he crashed into the back of Piastri in Montreal last month but he has responded with back-to-back wins for the first time in his career to breathe new life into his title charge.
He concluded: “I have had two good weekends, and of course I want to continue the momentum, but that requires consistency and I need to keep working hard.”
