Lando Norris delighted to clinch pole position after “tough” Qualifying at Singapore GP

Lando Norris took pole with a hefty margin over his championship rival Max Verstappen.

Lando Norris delighted to clinch pole position after “tough” Qualifying at Singapore GP

Lando Norris (via imago)

As the paddock rolled up to the Singapore GP weekend, McLaren overtook Red Bull in the constructors’ standings. On the driver’s side, Lando Norris was making his charge towards Max Verstappen. Subsequently, to assert authority over the field, drivers ushered in to take pole around the street circuit and the Brit emerged successful in the task despite the qualifying turning into a single-lap shootout after Carlos Sainz‘s crash.

Carlos Sainz suffered a high-speed crash, forcing FIA to stop the session. This left teams with only a single run to get their drivers at the sharp end. While Oscar Piastri held the provisional pole position, he soon began plummeting down the order as other drivers started lighting up the timesheet. Though Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton put in some stellar laps, they were a considerable amount behind Lando Norris, who put in the fastest lap of the session.

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After the session, Norris revealed how difficult his outing was due to the plateauing track evolution.

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It was tough, especially through qualifying I was finding it a little difficult to progress much and find lap time. One lap at the end was good enough for pole so happy with that. We got the job done.
Lando Norris said in the post-qualifying interview

The title contender asserted that qualifying around the street circuit had been tough for him as gaining lap time was getting harder each lap. However, he was content with the end result as he bagged the fastest lap with a two-tenths margin to his nearest rival.

McLaren garage was stressed out despite Lando Norris’ stellar effort

Though McLaren had portrayed a strong pace before the onset of qualifying, time control had been a major issue in Q3. Moreover, any mistake during the lap could have cost the team a subpar qualifying result. This made the English team severely stressed out as Piastri’s lap fell short of expectations and their faith relied on Norris.

McLaren's Andrea Stella and Lando Norris
Andrea Stella and Lando Norris (via IMAGO)

Subsequently, after clinching pole, Andrea Stella revealed the tense atmosphere that had enveloped the papaya garage.

It was stressful for everyone, it wasn't one of the cleanest laps for Lando - he came on the radio and said oh I made some mistakes and normally when he says that, he's quick.
Andrea Stella said in a post-qualifying interview

The Italian elaborated that the 24-year-old did not have one of the cleanest laps and made several mistakes. This tensed out the team as they feared the worst. However, their fears soon disappeared as the Brit took pole, and had quite some time in the pocket ahead of his Dutch rival.

On the contrary, Piastri’s mistakes cost him a potential front-row start. This would make his race tomorrow a lot harder than he would have envisioned after winning the last race in Baku. Thus, Norris would have to be the sole fighter at the front, while his teammate would be on a recovery run to get on the podium.