Norris: Within a tenth of Mercedes “a bit of a shock” in Styria F1 qualifying

The young Brit got within a tenth of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton in the battle for second place at the Red Bull, ending qualifying in fourth.

Norris will start from third due to Bottas’ three-place grid penalty as a result of his pit lane spin in second practice on Friday.

Despite struggling for outright pace in practice, Norris says he expected McLaren to perform well in qualifying.

“Yes, I think we were expecting to be good and strong because we have been relatively decent all weekend – you know, Daniel was very fast yesterday in P2 and stuff. The car’s been good, and you know we always take a bit of a step into Q3,” Norris said.

“To be ahead of one of the Red Bulls, I would say, not expected, because they’ve been very fast from Lap 1 here and miles ahead of us all weekend so It’s a similar story to Monaco or Baku or some tracks where we always looked way behind Mercedes or Red Bull, but as the fuel loads come down, I think everyone’s car becomes more equal and more competitive and yes, sometimes it can surprise you a little bit and we can be ahead of them.

“It’s nice to know and under a tenth of both the Mercedes, which is a bit of a shock, because I think I can just state a fact that they have more grip than us, and not that far behind. It’s weird to think of, but it’s a good position, so I’m happy.”

Norris concedes it’s unlikely he will be able to hang onto third with Sergio Perez and Bottas right behind him on the grid and expected to have a stronger race pace.

“I mean it’s a similar story to a couple of years ago when I was into P2 or P3 and we were mixed with the Red Bulls and the Mercedes guys, and if there’s an opportunity, 100% I’ll go for it, but I still need to pick and choose my competitors and my racers carefully and not kill the tyres and things like that,” Norris added.

“So, we’ll wait and see. I think on paper, on Friday, they were quite a bit quicker than us – both the Mercedes and Red Bulls – so I’m not expecting to be super competitive against them but we still have a good chance to beat everyone else behind, so that’s the plan.”