McLaren’s Lando Norris has been in outstanding form this season as he continues to outperform the capabilities of his car. The Briton showcased his potential once again during the Austrian Grand Prix qualifying session on Friday as he registered a lap time that was good enough for fourth fastest.
Despite having put such a strong effort, Norris revealed his unhappiness with the result. The 23-year-old blamed “track limits” for his failure to beat his good friend Carlos Sainz to third place on the grid.
P4! Thanks for all the hard work @McLarenF1 ❤️
— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) June 30, 2023
Norris explained in his post-qualifying interview that had he not missed the apex, he could have found the extra tenth he needed to beat Sainz. As it so happened, Norris registered a lap time of 1:04.658 that was just 0.o8 seconds slower than that of Sainz.
“It’s difficult to commit“: Lando Norris explains his difficulty during Q3
While speaking in his post-qualifying interview (as quoted by Sky Sports), Lando Norris explained why he fell short of the lap time he needed to beat Carlos Sainz. “It’s difficult to commit. The last corner is very tricky because you’re kind of on the entry curb, which makes the car very nervous and I just missed the apex by a little bit,” he explained.
Norris then added that he took it easier at one stage of the lap as he was afraid of exceeding “track limits,” and so he backed out of it. He then ended his remarks by stating, “So it definitely cost me P3, which I’m a bit annoyed by because I would have loved to be Carlos, but happy with P4,” he concluded.
P4 in quali! 👊@LandoNorris is still hungry for more this weekend. 😏#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/ZG23HahUQJ
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) June 30, 2023
Even though Norris and McLaren seem to have shown remarkable improvement during qualifying this weekend, it is the main race that counts. And that is where the team have struggled to score points.
After the first eight races of the 2023 season, McLaren are currently in sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship with 17 points. They are 27 points behind rivals Alpine and have it all to do if they are to claim that fifth spot in the championship.
Norris hopes McLaren’s upgrades can help him score good points in Austria
While speaking ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend, Lando Norris explained how he is hopeful that McLaren’s upgrades for this weekend can help him score some good points for the team. Since the Austrian GP is a sprint race weekend, the Briton will have two different opportunities to score the points.
Speaking of the same, he told Sky Sports F1, “It’s the first upgrade that’s really meant to bring performance and make us go quicker. It’s been a difficult start and I’m hoping it will be the thing that allows us to score points more easily“.
After speaking of the upgrades, Norris also explained how he is confident of having a good weekend in Austria as the Red Bull Ring has always been his favorite circuit since his junior Formula days. Since this is the same venue where the Briton not only grabbed a win in F4 but also his first F1 podium in 2020, he will hope for another strong race this weekend.
