Norris about persistent back problems: "I was in a pretty bad way"

Normally Norris is an energetic driver, who is always in for a chat and a joke, but in the past few weeks he wasn't quite himself. In Austria and Hungary the driver of McLaren had back problems. Afterwards it turned out to be bruises in his back, because he hadn't been in an F1 car for so long.

According to Norris himself things are going a lot better. "Hungary was much better already than the Red Bull Ring race – round two. There I was in a pretty bad way. I couldn’t drive without being on the painkillers at all so that was a bit of a lifesaver from my end in just letting me get out on track and drive", says the Briton in conversation with Formula1.com.

Good hope for Silverstone

"By the time we went to Hungary it was already better and obviously I went back and saw the specialist and the doctors and everyone and we kind of figured out a bit more what the problem was. It wasn’t something that we could just fix, it’s something that we think is going to take time," Norris explains.

So the week of rest between the race in Hungary and Great Britain came as a gift from heaven for the driver. "It wasn’t that I couldn’t drive, it was just something I was a bit more hesitant about thinking what happens if it does come up in the race? Then I might struggle." Norris only expects his back problems to be solved this weekend. "I should be fine come Silverstone."