Lando Norris hails McLaren for ‘bouncing back’ after Las Vegas F1 disappointment

Lando Norris was pleased McLaren were able to “bounce back” as he clinched pole position for the F1 Qatar Grand Prix sprint race.

Norris dominated sprint qualifying in Qatar as he topped the three segments.

The British driver’s first lap in SQ3 was good enough to claim pole ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell.

On a weekend where McLaren could win their first constructors’ title since 1998, it was a great start for the Woking outfit.

Reflecting on qualifying, Norris said in parc ferme: “It’s tough, because it’s so quick around here. It feels like the quickest circuit of the year. I mean, the final sector just feels like you’re hanging on.

“Great qualifying today, especially to bounce back from where we were last time out in Vegas, it’s a nice thing to do. Happy, it was a decent lap, I made too many mistakes on my second. But we were coming here to get pole, and we did that, so job done for today.”

Cooler conditions in Qatar have meant lap times are between five to six seconds faster than last year.

Norris conceded that this is making the high-speed Lusail circuit “a challenge”.

“The wind plays a big part, but the conditions are also a lot better than last season,” he added.

“Makes it a lot tougher physically, but also makes it a lot quicker to drive. I’m not, I don’t know, I struggle to, but I think some of the other cars are close to being flat through the corners in the final sector, and that’s quite an accomplishment.

“It felt quick, and when it feels quick, it must be very fast, you know? It’s a challenge out there, not easy to put a lap together, especially when the tires aren’t, they don’t feel in for the beginning, and through the lap you gain confidence. That’s been the challenge of today, but it’s paid off. We made some good improvements into qualifying and I was happy with it.”

Norris wary of Mercedes, Ferrari threat

Despite setting the pace throughout qualifying, Norris is still wary of Ferrari and Mercedes’ pace.

“I mean I want to win,” he added. “We want to win every session as drivers. Our target is a 1-2, we want to maximize points for our constructors’ today. Yeah. We want to go for it.

“We know it’ll be a battle, Mercedes will be quick, Ferrari will be fast. So not expecting an easy one, probably expecting an exciting one for everyone watching. Looking forward to it tomorrow.”