Lando Norris believes McLaren’s strong driver pairing can be a big advantage as the team celebrated an “important milestone” with a double podium at the Japanese Grand Prix. British driver Norris finished second for a second consecutive race, albeit well behind dominant race-winner Max Verstappen, while team-mate Oscar Piastri secured his first podium in his debut Formula One season. After a tough start to the year, McLaren have impressed since their first big upgrade began at July’s Austrian Grand Prix. Norris finished fourth at Spielberg before picking up back-to-back second-places at Silverstone and in Hungary. Piastri, 22, has exceeded expectations this season, with a number of strong displays earning the Australian an extended contract earlier this week – none more so than at Suzuka given he had never even been to Japan before. Norris feels their combined strength is a major plus for McLaren as they chase down Aston Martin in the constructors’ championship. “I think our advantage at the minute comparing to almost every team, bar a couple, is we have two drivers who are up there fighting for these positions and fighting for these points,” Norris said after the race at Suzuka. “And not every team has that at the minute. So I think that’s helping us. We can help one another, we can use one another, and I think that’s a good advantage we have over a lot of other teams at the minute. “So we’re on an upward trend. We’re making good progress and days like today prove exactly that. “The progress we’ve made this season has been pretty incredible from my eyes, and from where we were to finishing 19 seconds behind the lead is, I think, evidence of exactly that. “So I’m proud of everyone and we’ll keep pushing.” Team principal Andrea Stella described the result at Suzuka as “an important milestone in our journey at McLaren”, while Piastri celebrated a significant day. “You never forget your first podium, regardless of whether it’s been a strong performance or not,” he said. “So yeah, it will be a special day and I won’t forget it and also ticking the first podium off the list is always a nice achievement to have.” There are six races remaining in the 2023 season, including three sprint weekends, with a trip to Qatar next on the agenda in two weeks’ time. McLaren have closed to 49 points of Aston Martin in the standings and CEO Zak Brown is confident they have a well-rounded car to be strong for the rest of the campaign. “The team is just doing such a fantastic job, executing week in, week out,” Brown told Sky Sports F1. “We are trying to catch Red Bull. All we can do is chip a tenth at a time but Max was pretty dominant. I think we will be strong at the next race, so will keep pushing. “I feel as confident as I can we will be pretty strong everywhere, but we know there will be some tracks that favour your car more than others and we are good in the high speed, which Qatar is, so we will be strong there and not be weak anywhere.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen pips Oscar Piastri to pole after tense qualifying for Japanese GP Lando Norris narrows gap on Max Verstappen at final practice in Japan Max Verstappen returns to form in Japanese Grand Prix practice

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 2, 2023--

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has revealed he signed £52million midfielder Sandro Tonali after he “fell in love” watching his play for AC Milan last season. The 23-year-old Italy international made a stunning Premier League debut in the Magpies’ 5-1 rout of Aston Villa on Saturday evening, announcing himself in English football in style with the opening goal and a commanding engine room display. Asked if Tonali had exceeded his expectations, head coach Howe said: “I don’t know. I wouldn’t say so because that would be disrespectful to his ability. “We pursued him for a long, long time, paid a big fee for him because I fell in love watching him play the game last year. “He’s an outstanding talent. He can do a little bit of everything. Very similar to our other midfielders, he’s got a combination of a lot of attributes that I think will suit the Premier League. “This is one game. I don’t want to go over the top and put more pressure on him, but it’s a really good start and I’m just pleased that he looked confident in the shirt, and the fans have certainly taken to him. That’s a great thing to see.” Tonali set the ball rolling with the opener just six minutes into his first competitive appearance in a black and white shirt only for equally impressive Villa debutant Moussa Diaby to level in short order. However, Alexander Isak struck either side of half-time to put the home side in control and late goals from substitutes Callum Wilson and Harvey Barnes rounded off a thrilling performance. The romp left Newcastle top of the fledgling table, although Howe admitted that was of little significance to him. He said: “It’s nice, but it’s not important at this stage for me. The most important thing today was our performance, our attitude to the game, how we tried to deliver what we asked the players to do. “There’s a long season ahead and we know we come back to earth quickly because we have Manchester City away next week and that’s going to be a huge challenge, so my mind is already turning to that.” Villa’s disappointment at the way the game unravelled was compounded by what looked like a serious injury to England defender Tyrone Mings which saw him carried from the field on a stretcher before the break. Head coach Unai Emery said: “We don’t know what’s happened with this injury, but it doesn’t look good. Tomorrow we will scan him and hopefully it is not important. We have to wait for the scan, but it doesn’t look good.” Howe, who saw Mings suffer an anterior cruciate ligament in 2015 shortly after he had signed him for Bournemouth, said: “I have to say he faced that period out with incredible courage and resilience, and what he’s done since that moment, to go on and play for his country and be outstanding in the Premier League, is testament to that resilience. “We certainly wish him well and I send him all my love.” Asked if he had been shocked by his team’s performance, Emery said: “At the end, 5-1 is a little bit more than we deserved. “They [Newcastle] deserved to win, but not like that and that with the impact of injuries this week is very, very tough. We have lost two very, very important players for today in the match and for the next weeks.”

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