He could compete for pole with Max Verstappen for a long time, but in the end Lando Norris had to settle for second place on the starting grid. Obviously that is a great result, but at the same time Norris is also a bit frustrated because he had hoped to take pole in these challenging conditions.
During Q3, Lando Norris managed to set the provisional fastest time during the first series of fast runs, ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen who even had to settle for third fastest. A red flag followed and there was just over four minutes left on the clock.
So it looked good for Lando Norris, but when the session was resumed, Max Verstappen turned out to conquer pole position. During the ultimate fast run, Lando Norris was faster than Verstappen in the first sector, but it was especially in the second part of the lap that Norris lost time.
“The first half of my lap was very good. My second half was probably one of the worst halves I’ve ever driven,” said Norris after qualifying. “I peaked too early.”
Norris was then asked what area had peaked a little too early, and Norris replied, “The rider!” With which he did not try to put the blame for the lesser performance in the shoes of, for example, the tires.
“The tires were good until the end of the lap, it was the rider who peaked too quickly,” said Norris. “However, I am second and I am happy with that, that is a good result. I am very happy. The team did a great job. It was a chaotic qualifying and we did well, another second place.”
“It is tough and challenging but I enjoy such conditions. I’ve always enjoyed it. We always do well at times like this. In such circumstances you can hope that Max makes a mistake, but he didn’t! That’s a bit frustrating.”