The Landostand makes Silverstone glow as Lando Norris targets British GP victory

By Canadian Press on July 4, 2025.

SILVERSTONE, England (AP) — Expectations are high for Lando Norris to deliver a breakthrough victory at his home British Grand Prix. Nowhere more so than in the Landostand.

Fans in McLaren orange and the luminous yellow of Norris’ helmet gathered for Friday practice at the new Landostand — actually a series of stands — around the outside of one of Silverstone’s most famous corners, the sweeping, lightning fast Stowe.

Much like the banks of Dutch fans who support Max Verstappen at races around Europe, the dedicated stand is a sign of Norris’ newfound status in Formula 1 and the strength of his support as he battles teammate and standings leader Oscar Piastri.

Norris fastest in practice

Norris set the quickest time across Friday’s two practice sessions, leading Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by .222 of a second in the second session. Lewis Hamilton was third fastest on a solid day for Ferrari, .301 off the pace, and Piastri was fourth, with Verstappen fifth.

There was another British driver at the top of the time charts in Friday’s first session when Hamilton led the way, 0.023 ahead of Norris. Piastri was .150 further back in third and Charles Leclerc was fourth in the second Ferrari. Verstappen was 10th for Red Bull.

Practice is likely to be of limited use to the teams, since the weather is expected to change. It was warm and windy on Friday but cooler conditions with possible rain are forecast for both Saturday qualifying and Sunday’s race.

A sign of status

Norris the driver has emerged as a genuine title contender over the last 12 months, and Norris the brand has grown, too.

Norris has spoken in the past about the effort he makes to block out distractions and criticism, but says the Landostand, where he’s visiting fans throughout the weekend, is a “positive distraction” ahead of the race.

Norris has yet to win at Silverstone in seven attempts in F1 — his best finish was second in 2023 — and said this week he’d swap all of his other victories, even his prized Monaco win in May, for first place at the British GP.

“It’ll be the one that probably puts the biggest smile on my face, bigger than Monaco, and it’s the one that since I was a kid and since I first started watching Formula 1 that I’ve wanted to win the most,” Norris said.

Norris got the better of Piastri in a race-long fight for the win at last week’s Austrian GP. He also won Piastri’s home race at the Australian GP at the start of the year, but Piastri said he doesn’t get any extra motivation to beat Norris in front of the British crowd.

“The crowd’s always been actually quite nice to me, which has been nice, but I’m not really concerned about that. I’m more focused on trying to get another win on the board,” he said this week.

Hamilton’s hopes

More than ever, the F1 title race seems to be an all-McLaren affair. Verstappen is coming off a first-lap retirement in Austria last week and has been fending off questions about a potential move to Mercedes.

Hamilton has a record nine victories at the British GP but a 10th seems a long way off as he endures a difficult first season with Ferrari, despite his pace in Friday practice. He’s yet to finish on the podium in a grand prix this season.

“There’s always magic here at Silverstone, and so I really have to hope for that,” Hamilton said this week. “I’m hoping that weather, all sorts of things, can help us because we are obviously naturally not as quick as the McLarens and if it stays dry, then they will walk the race.”

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James Ellingworth, The Associated Press