Lando Norris beat Max Verstappen by just 0.031s to pole position, with a lap that he described as something he could have never repeated.
The Dutch driver was still very much in the fight for pole position, as he was improving his last attempt. However, since George Russell crashed in the dying stages of the session, no one could improve further and Norris grabbed pole position thanks to his first lap.
The Britton described it as “the best of my career” as he explained that, despite making positive adjustments to the car, he still needed to go over the limit if he wanted to beat Verstappen.
“I got everything out of the car. We changed a good amount from the sprint race into qualifying today and definitely took a step forward.
“But, man, I was still struggling a lot so I just knew I had to risk a little bit more and then give it a little extra. And it just came together perfectly, but it was definitely not a lap I could have repeated.
“So I’m very happy because I really wasn’t expecting to be here today.”
The McLaren driver also revealed that he was losing time especially in the first high-speed sector, where Red Bull was more competitive. That’s why he had to take more risks there in order to lose as little time as possible.
“I mean, it was just – it was a bit everywhere, honestly. But of course, the high-speed is where we struggle to touch the Red Bulls; especially Max has been extremely quick in the first sector, and the high-speed [corners].”
Even McLaren team principal Andrea Stella admitted that it might have been almost impossible for Norris to further improve his lap in the second run. Moreover, the Italian admitted that the yellow flag helped McLaren, as Verstappen’s lap was looking excellent.
“The first lap was pretty much perfect, it would have been difficult I think for Lando to improve on a second set of tires,” Stella told Sky F1.
“I saw Verstappen was on a fast lap, which could have been a problem for us in terms of pole position, so I think the yellow flag helped us.”
To conclude, Stella is glad that the team has managed to enhance the car’s performance and hopes that by reducing tire degradation, both Norris and Oscar Piastri can be competitive in today’s race.
“Overall, it’s encouraging that we’ve been able to improve the car from the sprint performance. We have made some tuning to the set-up. I think we understand some aspects also from a driving point of view.
“Lando and Oscar have been able to pull it all together. P1 and P5 is important for tomorrow, and hopefully, we will be able to reduce the tire degradation, which was high in the sprint.”