McLaren’s return in grace in 2020 — as high as third in the constructors’ standing — started in Austria with the maiden podium of their driver Lando Norris, one of the youngest on the grid. The Briton made a last lap charge that saw him snatching the third place from the grasp of Lewis Hamilton, along with the fastest lap of the race.

FU*KKKK YEAHHHHH!! 🍾 P3 and my first every Podium!! 🍾 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁 pic.twitter.com/gMClg9JPwG

— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) July 5, 2020

A couple of months later, Norris got the occasion to reflect on what that podium meant for him in terms of motivation, and for his team as well.

"The podium finish at the Grand Prix of Austria last season certainly helped myself and the team to become even more motivated for the rest of the season".

The McLaren protege emphasized on how encouraging it was to get immediate rewards from a hard word carried from the winter break. He went from 11th in 2019 to 9th in 2020, while McLaren earned a very coveted third place, in a very tight midfield battle that saw the Woking squad be separated from Racing Point and Renault by only 21 points.

"It was an important moment for myself, but also for the team. We started the season well and that laid a very good foundation for McLaren. I was rarely in the right position to take a podium in 2019. That's why I worked hard over the winter to make sure I was more consistent throughout the race.”

"That hard work paid off immediately during the first race of the season and the result of course also gave me a great boost. So it wasn't a top five place or something in the first race of the year, but a podium place immediately and it was also my first podium place ever in Formula 1.”

Furthermore, finding himself in a position to fight for a valuable place and capitalize it during the race felt particularly satisfying for the 21-year old.

"Everyone at McLaren was really happy with that result, but I still think it was even better for me. Especially since the year before I was never really in the right position to take advantage of some situations to get on the podium."

Considering 2020, it was, by all standards, a particular year. The Covid-19 outbreak led to a shortened F1 calendar, with only 17 races instead of the customary 21 to take place. Moreover, teams had to adjust to reduced staff and very demanding sanitary measures. However, Norris felt satisfied with the progress he made throughout, despite the season’s oddness.

"It is strange to think that I will already start my third year in Formula 1 this year, I do not have the feeling that I've already had a true second year"

"When I look back at the 2020 season, I think that I have made the greatest progress especially in the intervening period between the 2019 and 2020 season."

The Briton pointed at his lack of focus as the reason why he needed to improve for 2020.

"During the past season my focus was not always on racing, at least not like in 2019,"

"I was also busy with my engineers, to record things around me more. Like the work during the 'debriefs', the tuning of the car and things like that.” he added.

For Norris, consistency and communication were definitely the key elements that made him a better driver in 2020.

"I think that in Formula 1 it is not only important to improve yourself as a driver, but also to learn things that ultimately ensure that you become more consistent, something in which I definitely improved in 2020. My input to the engineers was also more reliable. I dared to speak out a bit more and not go along with the let's say 'go with the flow' principle."

Ultimately, he concluded:

"Looking back on the season, I am quite satisfied with my progress, especially with my development outside the track,"

"Of course there are still areas for improvement, but all in all I am satisfied with my progress in 2020."