Lando Norris reveals surprising response to missing Austrian GP practice

Lando Norris has admitted he "didn't mind" sitting out the first free practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix, claiming he was more "relaxed" than he otherwise would have been.

The British driver handed his McLaren to junior driver Alex Dunne for the opening hour of the weekend at the Red Bull Ring, before taking back over for FP2.

Whilst the 19-year-old impressed, going fourth-fastest in FP1, just a tenth of a second behind Oscar Piastri in the other MCL39, Norris topped the second hour of running.

Nonetheless, the six-time grand prix winner enjoyed the change of pace at the start of his day.

"I didn't mind sitting on the pit wall," the 25-year-old said after FP2. "I felt a lot more relaxed there than in the car, especially around here.

"But you're right. I've always enjoyed this place. The car felt good from the off."

McLaren was particularly pleased with the feedback Dunne provided, and Norris agreed, commenting on how his car had been moved "in the right direction" before he took back over.

"Alex [Dunne] gave good feedback this morning after FP1, and he was on the pace straight away, so it was good to see," he added.

"I think they moved the car in the right direction for FP2. And we just need to understand if we want more of that tomorrow, or a little bit less or somewhere in the middle.

"So, yeah, good steps in the right direction, but still a little bit more to come, hopefully."

Expecting a 'tight' qualifying day

However, Norris is still wary of the threat from behind, highlighting how Max Verstappen and Red Bull often improve considerably between Friday and Saturday.

The Dutch driver is seeking a sixth victory at his team's home circuit this weekend and currently trails Norris by 21 points in the drivers' standings. Piastri leads the championship, another 22 ahead.

"We've showed a bit more pace than some of the others, and I certainly think they're going to catch up - Max [Verstappen] is not far behind, and they normally improve a lot into Saturday," he added.

"So I hope it's a good day tomorrow, and I'm sure we'll improve on some things, but it's not as easy as maybe it looked today.

"I think it's still going to be tight tomorrow, it always is. There's no reason for it not to be, but we'll work hard to make it as big of a gap as possible."