Lando Norris expecting a ‘tough race’ after ending up behind Max Verstappen and George Russell in Qatar GP qualifying
Lando Norris missed out on pole position by two tenths of a second against a much improved Red Bull side led by Max Verstappen.
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Max Verstappen, George Russell, and Lando Norris (Via: PlanetF1 and Imago)
McLaren driver Lando Norris was able to chart lap times only as good as P3 during the Qatar GP qualifying. The 25-year-old, who has been in pole position seven times this season, missed out in Lusail by 2 tenths of a second.
Lando Norris has been in fine form for the better part of this campaign. Having won three times, the Brit has amassed a total of 12 podiums. He now starts behind Mercedes’ George Russell and four-time world champion Max Verstappen.
Max Verstappen turned up massively in his RB20 after a dismal result in the Sprint race. Norris therefore expects a tough battle between himself and the two drivers ahead of him in the Qatar GP.
Everyone saw how close it was between all of us. Not much between all of us, which gives us hope that we can move forward. I expect a tougher race tomorrow.
Lando Norris said after the Qatar GP qualifying
Norris: Everyone saw how close it was between all of us. Not much between all of us, which gives us hope that we can move forward. I expect a tougher race tomorrow.
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) November 30, 2024
Norris will find it incredibly difficult to overtake the in-form George Russell, who won last week in Las Vegas. The Brit’s efforts will nevertheless be of importance to the Papayas, who currently lead the title battle.
Lando Norris’ final Q3 lap was his best effort in qualifying
McLaren has been one of, if not the fastest, teams for a significant span of this season. However, over the course of the past few races, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull have caught up to the pace of the Papayas. Lando Norris hence talked about the Woking-based team’s pace after the qualifying at Lusail.
Not the position we were hoping for, but the maximum we could do for sure. So happy with the lap, but not happy with the result. There’s not a lot in it between all of us, so we hope we can go forward.
Lando Norris said after the Qatar GP qualifying
Lando Norris: Not the position we were hoping for, but the maximum we could do for sure. So happy with the lap, but not happy with the result. there's not a lot in it between all of us, so we hope we can go forward.
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) November 30, 2024
Norris claimed that his P3 result in qualifying was less than what his team would have hoped for. He nonetheless stated that the MCL38 performed to its full potential in a challenging session for the Papayas.
The 25-year-old driver has not won a race since Singapore in September, despite coming close a fair few times. His approach will now be to make as few mistakes as possible in order to overturn his deficit on Sunday.
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Yashraj Chowdhury
(599 Articles Published)