“Wrong guy on pole,” Ex-F1 driver feels Lando Norris in a tricky position for Interlagos Sprint race
Australian driver Oscar Piastri is slated to start the Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint race from pole position.
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Oscar Piastri [L], Lando Norris [R] (image via IMAGO)
The 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix weekend has turned out to be a fascinating watch. Oscar Piastri amassed pole during the Sprint qualifying and is slated to start the Sprint race ahead of his McLaren teammate and championship contender Lando Norris.
Following this, the Ex-F1 driver Damon Hill feels Lando Norris is in a tricky spot for the upcoming event. The dash to Turn 1 at the Interlagos racing circuit is quite small and anything could happen on lap 1 of the race.
The Brit has the prolific duo of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen starting right behind him.
They have absolutely nailed it, and McLaren has now got a problem because they’ve two cars in a very tricky situation, with kind of the wrong guy on pole. We’ll have to see what happens in the sprint. I think it’s going to be very, very tricky for McLaren to navigate Turn 1. I think Lando is in a bit of a tricky situation. It’s a short run to the first corner, you’ve a left and a right very, very quickly. It’s very easy to get someone on your inside.
Damon Hill via Sky Sports F1
Norris has built a bad reputation for ruining his front-row starts this year. He has botched his race several times and this could again happen, although, this time starting from second place. The lights of Leclerc and Verstappen will not miss any opportunity in case Norris once again gets his grid-start wrong.
McLaren eyeing ‘good points’ in Interlagos Sprint race
While the pundits have been at it in terms of giving their opinions around Lando Norris for the Sprint race, McLaren’s Andrea Stella is very pleased with his drivers. Moreover, he is expecting Norris and Oscar Piastri to bring home a solid hall of points.
The track was cold and the sky was overcast – we know that our car enjoys these conditions. For the remainder of the weekend, there’s some weather around, so we just have to remain focused, maximize the potential of the car, and adapt to the challenges that we will face. As a starting point, this is encouraging, and we hope that we can earn some good points tomorrow.
Andrea Stella via Racingnews365
As things stand, Norris is 47 points behind Max Verstappen in the driver’s championship. Piastri has admitted that he will help his teammate and considering this, the duo could switch their positions during the Sprint race. However, this will only become a possibility if both the McLaren drivers get away from their respective grid spots scot-free in the Sprint race.
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)