Lando Norris revealed that he was in Barcelona ill last Saturday of the Spanish Grand Prix last weekend. It was later revealed he was struggling with tonsillitis, with visible signs: the young Briton had been depressed all weekend, had barely used the radio during the race, and had been relieved of his media obligations following the knockdown. It only took a few days for him to recover and he was not able to fully recover in Monaco, so the FIA exempted him from Friday’s press conferences.
Norris ’illness was no longer evident at his pace: in Monaco, he finished both Friday’s free practice in fifth place, preceded only by Ferraris and Red Bulls faster than McLaren. Team leader Andreas Seidl betrayed after the exercises, a McLaren tried to give all help to the recovering pilot.
“After the race in Barcelona, the most important thing was to give him the most time to recover as a team. That’s what we did. He obviously also received great support from his team, the stable doctor, and his own trainer to get him out on the field today with all his might. That’s how it happened. It’s probably still not one hundred percent, but it’s already much better. I don’t expect that kind of problem for the rest of the weekend. “
There were several options available to McLaren to possibly replace Norris. THE Mercedes two reserves, Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne, in addition to which the Alpine Oscar Piastrit, who was part of his team, could also have been “asked”.
“As every race weekend, reserve pilots are available here. We have different agreements. If Lando hadn’t been well enough, we’d ask one of the reserves. “
Interestingly, despite Norris ’illness, Seidl said Friday’s first practice was the team’s best free practice of the year so far.
“Both cars worked well, both drivers had a relatively good time. We didn’t have any problems. That’s exactly what we hope for when we get ready for our special Monaco weekend. It is important that everything remains in one piece, taking into account the cost ceiling, the new rules and the current situation of spare parts in Formula 1. ”
The second run was no longer so positive for McLaren, Daniel Ricciardo slammed his car against the wall at the pool.
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