F1 | Norris on pole: “Now we just have to make it happen and win”

An entirely papaya front row, the likes of which hasn’t happened since the sprint qualifying of the 2023 Qatar GP, although we have to go back even further to see the two Woking cars in front of everyone at the start of Sunday’s race, way back in 2012. It’s a McLaren that looks to tomorrow with a smile, because it knows full well that, this time, it has a real chance of trying to concretize the result, not only for the pace shown during these two days, but also because it starts with two cars in front, which will give it the chance to play on a strategic level too.

Going into the weekend, McLaren knew that the Hungarian track could represent a concrete chance to finally achieve the much-desired result that had eluded them on other occasions, also because there are many medium-speed corners here, as well as slow corners where the MCL38 tends to have an advantage over the RB20.

The gap seen on Friday on Max Verstappen did not repeat itself today, not only because the Dutchman had left himself some margin in free practice, but also due to the various situations in qualifying, including Yuki Tsunoda’s accident that prematurely interrupted the various attempts at the end of Q3 with new tyres, in particular that of Norris. Crossing the finish line a few moments before the interruption, Oscar Piastri was still able to snatch second place from the Dutchman, conquering a front row that could play a key role on a strategic level.

In FP3 Verstappen showed a very interesting time on the hard, which is why it will be interesting to see how the situation will evolve tomorrow. Without Piastri’s support, the race could have been much more complex on a tactical level.

“I’m very happy! It wasn’t an easy qualifying, with so many different conditions, but we managed to finish in the lead. I’m especially happy for the team that put both cars in front,” Norris explained, commenting on the pole position.

“Today’s performance gives us confidence, but we already had confidence, I think we came here to Hungary knowing we had a good car, capable of fighting for pole. And that’s what we did today.”

“We are in the best position for whatever the conditions are tomorrow. Two cars on the front row, we can control the situation, as long as we stay where we are, we will be happy. Clearly the target for tomorrow is the win, the car is strong and I am driving well,” added the Briton.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Piastri himself was also satisfied, who yesterday had not ended the day with a smile, especially because something had not worked in FP2, beyond the damage reported to the floor. Compared to FP1, the sensations were totally different, which is why recovering to get on the front row is a reason for happiness for the Australian.

“It’s the first 1-2 in qualifying for a long time, so I’m very happy. Of course, losing pole by 20 thousandths, you think that maybe you could have always done better, but it’s a great result for the team. For me yesterday was a bit of a difficult day, so it’s nice to get a good result today. It wasn’t easy, we made a lot of decisions on the fly,” Piastri explained, before adding that, beyond the 20 thousandths, he actually has no major regrets.

“I don’t think I left much. In the first lap of Q3 maybe yes, but the second lap was very good, maybe I could have done better here and there, but it was a good lap actually. I’m happy with the work done today.”

“For tomorrow, I would clearly like to take the lead into Turn 1, we know we have a long challenge ahead of us, that of winning the championship as a team, we have a very good car, which has worked great here. We want a one-two,” added the Australian.