He was the favorite after free practice and he did not disappoint expectations. On a day when it was essential to realize the potential of the car, especially because Singapore is one of those tracks where the track position can really make the difference, the Englishman put together a good lap that earned him the pole position over his closest rival in the fight for the championship, Max Verstappen.
Undoubtedly the McLaren driver would have preferred to see the Dutchman further back, especially considering the difficulties encountered yesterday, as also demonstrated by Sergio Perez’s thirteenth place, out in Q2 behind the two Williams and one of the two Racing Bulls.
For Norris it was essential to build on what he had seen yesterday because, on such a changeable track, with Red Bull and Mercedes having reappeared by overturning the setup after a very complicated Friday, pole was effectively within reach thanks to a McLaren that was overall very effective in a wide range of conditions.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
The important aspect was also understanding the variation of the track because, if you take the Q1 time and compare it with that of Q3, you notice an improvement of only 5 tenths, which makes you understand how strange the evolution of a track was that, since FP3, had proven to be slower than yesterday. A theme also mentioned by Norris himself, who did not fail to underline how comfortable he was with the single-seater throughout the weekend, being able to push right from the first free practice.
“It was a tough qualifying, it was also a bit difficult to improve between the heats, while the other rivals improved heat after heat, they got faster and faster putting pressure on me, then with just one lap at the end. But in the end it was enough for pole and I’m happy about that, especially here in Singapore. I had a good feeling here all weekend, I’m confident in the car. Maybe not so much in qualifying, but we got the job done,” said Norris, who also managed well the overheating at the rear of the soft, a compound that has proved challenging for McLaren in the past on tracks that put a lot of stress on the rear.
With only one attempt available in Q3 due to the red flag caused by Carlos Sainz for a mistake in the final corner while he was launching, the pressure on all the drivers increased, also because a single mistake could have compromised the whole qualifying. “It’s funny. Of course, it puts a bit of pressure on you. My lap wasn’t as good as the one before the red flag, maybe there was something more, but as I said, the car gives a good feeling and when you feel that confidence, you can push and the time comes out. Today I did the job we had to do, let’s see what happens tomorrow”.
Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
This is another of the topics addressed by Norris, that is, how the security of having a very competitive car, in any case, has given him the awareness of not having to go beyond the limit, but rather do what is necessary to complete a clean lap and bring home the result in qualifying.
“We know we are fast, so we must not overdo it, we must do what we have done all weekend. Obviously it is always difficult, because the car moves, here the asphalt is very bumpy, it is easy to make a mistake by braking a meter later and you pay the price. I remained calm and did what I had to do,” added the McLaren driver.
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