"One of the best laps [...] in my career": Norris celebrates pole position in Madrid
McLaren's Lando Norris, who celebrates his third pole position in the last four races, has become the first pole-sitter at the Madring circuit at the end of a busy qualifying session. The reigning world champion, who currently sits in fourth in the World Drivers Championship standings, has taken four pole position so far this season and converted two of them into back to back race wins.
Discussing the lap itself after the session, the British driver made it clear that it was "just one of those laps where everything came together". He further added that "the lap really was just perfect" having made a significant improvement on his first timed attempt in Q3.
Throughout the weekend, all 11 teams have been dealing with plenty of unknowns as Formula One prepares for the inagural Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring on Sunday. The track, which features sharps turns and extreme banking at the La Monumental corner, is a test for the drivers which Norris alluded to. Speaking about the circuit, the British driver noted that "there are a lot of walls that come at you pretty quickly" which makes pushing the car to the limit more difficult.
However, even when starting on pole for Sunday's Grand Prix, Norris said that the lap "could have been a little bit better". Nevertheless, he heralded the attempt, which got him pole position by a margin of 0.011s as "one of the best laps I've done".
In the context of the weekend, this achievement was even more significant as Norris failed to completed a timed lap in Free Practice 2 on Friday due to a changed gearbox therefore losing out on crucial running time. Speaking about the delay, he made it clear that "I've been playing a little bit of catch-up" in growing his confidence around the teack. He further added that "with the lack of running yesterday, it certainly puts you a little bit on the back foot" but there's no doubt that McLaren will do everything to get the pole-sitter up to speed in time.
With two races wins to his name so far this season, there's no doubt that Norris will be hoping to add a third. The prepration ahead of the race will be pinned on his and the team's attempt "to try and get ahead of the game in some sorts" to ensure that they are celebrating when the chequered flag is waved on Sunday.
Comments