“Harder than it looks,” Lando Norris thrilled to clinch pole position in tricky conditions at Dutch GP
The battle for pole position was won by Lando Norris in a close and exciting qualifying session.
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Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
The Dutch GP was anticipated to be the clashing grounds for Red Bull and McLaren. The Austrian giant was hoping to get pole to help them have the upper hand in the race. However, the Dutch party for Max Verstappen came to an abrupt halt as Lando Norris blasted past the Dutchman’s provisional pole time with a hefty margin. Despite beating his rival to pole, the 24-year-old claimed that the stonking lap was harder than it looked.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton won their respective home races earlier this season. This set the precedent for Max Verstappen to aim for the win around Zandvoort. On the contrary, the track is notoriously famous for its lack of overtaking characteristics, which lays more emphasis on qualifying. However, the reigning champion’s fears came to bite him during qualifying as Lando Norris pulled out an impressive lap and got the pole by a margin of 0.356 seconds.
Subsequently, after securing the pole position, it was understood that the 24-year-old was at ease with his car. In stark contrast, he claimed his pole lap was way harder than it looked.
Nice to be back and to start with a pole! It was a nice lap, qualifying was pretty smooth and I put in some good laps. It's harder than it looks, it's tricky out there but I felt comfortable. The car feels amazing, everything is working (updates) very well so a big thanks to the team. I'm excited for tomorrow.Lando Norris said in the post-qualifying interview hosted by Jolyon Palmer
The Brit started the interview in excitement as he started the second half of the season on a high note. Furthermore, he admitted that the intensely-fought qualifying went smoothly though he reckoned it was harder as gusts of winds hurled around the track.
Zak Brown claims Lando Norris’ is too harsh on himself
Despite winning his fourth pole position in F1, the Brit remained fairly composed on the radio. Fans subsequently speculated that the McLaren driver was well aware of his statistics when starting on the first grid slot and was skeptical about his situation.
However, Zak Brown soon admitted that Norris was too critical of himself.
He (Lando) is very honest with everyone and sometimes too hard on himself. The smallest mistake he is harsh on himself, but you could see with the smile on his face. He was happy.Zak Brown said in his post-qualifying interview
The American asserted that the 24-year-old was honest and that sometimes the smallest of mistakes made him upset. However, he explained that Norris was happy with his effort as he was seen smiling in the parc fermé.
On the other hand, Red Bull currently leads McLaren by 42 points. This lead could change early as Sergio Perez qualified a further four-tenths away from Verstappen. Thus, Red Bull is bound to concede points in the constructor’s championship if McLaren follows on with its momentum during tomorrow’s race.
In case you missed it:
- Sergio Perez lashes out on “idiot” Lewis Hamilton during Q1 at Dutch GP
- Oscar Piastri laments ‘disappointing’ run after securing P3 in Dutch GP Qualifying
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Geetansh Pasricha
(772 Articles Published)