Lando Norris admits it ‘won’t be a good day’ if he doesn’t win Hungarian GP starting on pole

McLaren secured its first front row lockout in more than a decade.

Lando Norris admits it ‘won’t be a good day’ if he doesn’t win Hungarian GP starting on pole

Lando Norris (via IMAGO)

Lando Norris emerged as the nearest rival to Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the 2024 season. The Brit claimed his maiden Grand Prix victory earlier in Miami and looked set to extend his tally in the subsequent races. However, McLaren and Norris bottled multiple chances to secure a race victory. Despite this, the pair of Norris and Oscar Piastri locked out the front row at the Hungarian GP, which urged the former to assert that the Woking-based squad is in the best position to win the race.

Max Verstappen arrived at the Hungarian GP with the hopes of recreating his success from the past two years. However, Red Bull has seemingly hit a development ceiling which has halted their progress up the grid and has left the Dutchman in a vulnerable position. This situation was witnessed during the qualifying for the Hungarian GP when Verstappen was outqualified by the McLaren duo for the shootout for pole.

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The reigning world champion’s inability to secure pole helped McLaren assert their dominance. This has intrigued pole sitter Lando Norris to claim that it won’t be a solid outing if he doesn’t win on race day.

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Not an easy qualifying, mixed conditions but happy and a 1-2 is even better to see. We've come into this weekend and the last few happy and confident we can fight for pole and that's exactly what we've done. We are in the best position for whatever the conditions throw at us [tomorrow]....If I don't [win] then it's not been a good day... it's obvious what the aim is for tomorrow.
Lando Norris said in the post-qualfiying interview

The 24-year-old admitted that the mixed climatic conditions made qualifying a hefty task. However, he was happy with a 1-2 finish and claimed that he was certain the team would be in the fight for pole. The Brit then asserted that McLaren is in the best position for claiming the first-place trophy as having two cars at the sharp end would help them control the race.

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Sergio Perez (via IMAGO, Screenshot via F1)

Oscar Piastri joins in to celebrate McLaren’s front-row lockout

While Norris acquired the pole position, his teammate Oscar Piastri secured the front row with his P2. The Aussie has often been a rapid gunner in qualifying but had several problems during the weekend that he had to overcome.

Oscar Piastri
Oscar Piastri (via IMAGO)

The 23-year-old was delighted with the qualifying result.

It's cool to be here, especially when you get a result like this - the first 1-2 for McLaren in qualifying for a very long time. We had a tricky day on my side yesterday so it was nice to bounce back.
Oscar Piastri said in the post-qualifying interview

Piastri explained that he was not at home with the MCL38. Regardless, as the weekend progressed, he was able to get on top of the car and qualified a mere two-hundredths behind the Brit.

Despite McLaren being optimistic for a win tomorrow, the mighty Dutchman qualified only four-hundredths behind Norris. Thus, the race around the short track would be an exciting one as the top three are closely matched in terms of performance.

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