At the beginning of the season, a mere 10 races ago, Lando Norris endured an opener of excruciating torment in Bahrain. With his stricken McLaren impacted by a “pneumatic pressure leak”, the Brit valiantly took the chequered flag in dead last after pitting an astonishing six times throughout the race. It was, simply, a shambles. But that now seems nothing but a distant memory, four months on in the safe haven of the British Isles. Most observers did not raise an eyebrow when McLaren announced a number of upgrades to their car ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix last week. It is the phase of the season where every team is changing parts in search of that extra tenth or two of speed. Usually, by way of natural progression, the improvement is gradual. Yet out of an abyss of doom to start 2023, the papaya have come storming back into contention. The signs were there in Austria when Norris qualified third on the grid. Race-pace on that occasion last week was his downfall. But this time, what a sparkling Silverstone weekend it proved to be for Norris and his team-mate Oscar Piastri. One-lap pace on a Saturday? Tick. Backed up by enhanced speed on Sunday? Another tick. If it wasn’t for a mid-race safety car, it would have been a first double podium since Monza two years ago for McLaren, with Piastri unfortunate to not grasp his first top-three in F1 after finishing fourth. But it was Norris who was the star of the show at Silverstone. On paper the slowest out of the British triumvirate, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell sporting the might of Mercedes, cautious optimism was the talk of the day heading into the British Grand Prix. Saturday was a statement. Norris had top-tier pace throughout all three qualifying sessions and for a moment, it seemed he’d grabbed pole position before Max Verstappen, inevitably, snatched it from him. Still, a front-row start. And inspired by a record 160,000-strong crowd on Sunday, Norris reacted quicker at lights out, storming down the inside past the previously irrepressible Red Bull. Such was McLaren’s raw speed to start, Piastri also almost steered his way past Verstappen. But a McLaren was out in front: Lando Norris was leading the British Grand Prix. Yet there were still 52 full laps to complete. And while Norris could do nothing to defend against the might of the Red Bull DRS on lap five, the pace of the MCL60 – so named to celebrate 60 years since the team was founded by Bruce McLaren – remained impressive. Both Norris and Piastri, in scenes unfathomable a month ago, were keeping Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin behind them with ease. But the mid-race safety car changed the complexion behind Verstappen. Hamilton benefited, leapfrogging Piastri, and was on quicker soft tyres compared to Norris’ hard compound. Right on the heels of his former team. But right then, lap 39, was the coming-of-age moment. Under pressure down the Wellington Straight, Norris positioned his car exquisitely on the inside of the racing line, with Hamilton surging around the outside. He remained inches in front around Brooklands and stayed cool down at Copse Corner, scene of that infamous Hamilton-Verstappen crash two years ago. A lap later, the same scenario presented the same result. Hamilton noted afterwards that the McLaren was like a “rocketship” in high-speed corners. This time at Copse, Norris was on the outside but stayed firm on the throttle, whizzing around in front and remaining ahead of the Mercedes. Hamilton never got so close again. A much-deserved and highly-impressive second place for Norris; his joint best-result in Formula 1. And although a first win for the 23-year-old remains elusive for now, McLaren’s pace – while particularly suited to this track, in juxtaposition to the next race in Hungary – was striking. Those positive steps, so long nothing but cliches rattled out in the media, have finally been taken by Zak Brown and his team at Woking. That top tier of four teams in F1 in 2023, with Aston Martin’s arrival at the start of the season, has briskly become five. Read More Max Verstappen storms to British Grand Prix victory with two Brits on the podium Toto Wolff admits Mercedes will soon have ‘no choice’ but to switch focus to next year ‘I laugh at the bad comments’: Lando Norris on dealing with online abuse and a ‘tough’ year on-track

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Fara Williams has said she is "immensely proud" of the Lionesses World Cup performance but has noted the different ways the women's game needs improvement to continue this momentum for future generations. The entire country got behind England as they reached the final where their campaign ended in heartbreak after they were defeated 1-0 by Spain. However, the side managed by Sarina Wiegman has had an impressive run after they won the Women's Euros at Wembley last year. Williams, the 39-year-old ex-England player was a Lioness for 18 years and had an impressive club career winning two WSL titles, some of the clubs she played for include Chelsea, Charlton, Everton, Liverpool, Arsenal and Reading. In 2016, Williams collected an MBE in the 2016 New Year Honours list and is now a popular pundit where she commentated for the BBC at the Women's World Cup this summer, these achievements have solidified her legendary status in the women's game. Now, Williams has collaborated with Sports Direct as a brand ambassador to improve how the sport is represented - with 44 per cent of fans thinking women’s sport should be better represented in the media. The former footballer has told Indy100 her thoughts on the Lionesses's performance at the World Cup, how representation has changed over the years and the importance of improving the representation in women's football from the grassroots. How did it feel to see England in the final, and the country getting behind the Lionesses? "Obviously immensely proud to see the Lionesses reach a World Cup final, a year on from the success of the Euros in England. "It was an incredible achievement to go two finals back to back the way they did, and I think they changed the perception of the women's game and put some respect on it finally, after so many years." From when you started playing football professionally up until now – have you seen a shift in attitude when it comes to representation? "Since I played to now, I think there's been a huge shift in mentality and how people view the women's game and see it. "There wasn't any respect or visibility for it before. I think the fact that there are now broadcasters that showcase it, brands that want to represent some of the players and highlight them - not just individually but collectively. "The representation of that has certainly changed and shifted over the years and is in a really good place, obviously still growing. So yeah, it's been really positive since I played and then since retirement." What areas of women’s football need improvement to continue the momentum the Lionesses have created from the Euros and the World Cup? "I think there are a few areas that need to improve in the women's game to continue the momentum of the Lionesses’ success. "The grassroots end of the game is something that I'm passionate about, trying to improve the quality that's down there. I think obviously, in the women's league structures, it's very top-heavy with the Lionesses, but in order to create a competitive, more balanced league and a future for the game, there are areas that need to be improved within that." "And then obviously each individual club and the way that they're supported as a whole has to be improved, in terms of staffing, facilities etc. "But it’s certainly changed, and there's obviously more teams now that are more supported than there ever has been before. "So it's in a good place but still room for improvement and, you know, hopefully, the steps after the success of the Lionesses will continue to improve." With the Women’s World Cup creating a buzz online, how has social media played a role in helping people wake up to the tournament and women’s football in general? "Yeah, I think social media has played a huge part in helping to grow the women's game and to grow interest in it. I think it's been a good way of showing individual personalities from each of the Lionesses, obviously club football as well - it's helped with that. "So yeah, it's played a huge part and now the fact that there's more females being seen on these platforms obviously highlights and increases interest moving forward." How is the Sports Direct Equal View campaign working to improve representation? "Sports Direct’s Equal View campaign is working to improve the representation of females in football. "It’s a huge move in terms of showcasing sportswomen and footballers in general, and the fact that it's going to be more equal in terms of showing men and women." I personally don't think I've seen it done before and it is massive progress that will allow young girls and boys to dream of being a professional footballer. What would your younger self make of the increasing representation in the women’s game? "I unfortunately didn't get the opportunity to see female role models when I was growing up, to aspire to be like any of them - now there are so many good female role models within the game and sport in general, that young girls can look up to and actually dream. "And not just dream, but those dreams can become a reality. So yeah, I would have certainly been buzzing as a younger me seeing all of it." How did you think England performed in the WC Final and the tournament overall? "I think England's performances in the World Cup, throughout the tournament, were a bit up and down. I think they played against opposition that we clearly could see they weren't used to playing against. "So obviously, giving them different challenges in terms of what they had to play up against. "But I felt they dealt with challenges really well for the tournament, they had a depleted squad going into it. I think a lot of us didn't expect or think that they would go as far as they did, given the fact of all the injuries they had going into the tournament, but I certainly think they showed maturity. "They showed a togetherness that allowed them to underperform and win games. And I think that's something that Lionesses have never been able to do before. "So I think it just showed great strength and character within the squad. Of course, in the final we all wanted the Lionesses to win and bring back the World Cup, but it wasn't to be and on reflection, I think the better team won - credit to Spain. "But I wouldn't say their preparation was any different. I just think the execution of the game plan was better than ours on the day. Games are made on moments, they had their moment and took it. "But as I said before, the fact that the Lionesses got there - they certainly changed the perception of the game and put huge respect on women's football in general, which I think can only be positive moving forward. "They captured a nation yet again, new followers, new interest, and that's only going to help with the growth. We saw the amount of fans that attended, the millions that watched worldwide. So it proves that there is an interest in our sport." Sports Direct is working with Getty to capture football fans across the world, seeking to improve the representation of women’s football fans by creating a digital bank of images that show an equal view of the WC23, available from August 24. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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