“Lando’s a Little Bit Grumpy”: Zak Brown Reflects on Norris’ Mood After Oscar Piastri’s Record-Breaking Pole

The Shanghai International Circuit kept ramping up with each passing lap this weekend. Lewis Hamilton entered the history books on Friday when his sprint pole lap broke Sebastian Vettel’s lap record. And in Grand Prix qualifying today, Oscar Piastri bettered Hamilton’s time.

Piastri, for the first time in his career, will start the Grand Prix from pole on Sunday. While McLaren was delighted, Lando Norris was not particularly happy with his own performance, Zak Brown revealed in a Sky Sports interview after the session.

“This has been a tricky weekend for us so far,” the McLaren CEO said.

Shanghai has been hard on the tires, with multiple drivers struggling to maintain temperatures, as seen in the sprint on Saturday morning. Among them was Norris, who didn’t really get his MCL39 up to speed, finishing P8 – six places behind Piastri.

“The Sprint race was great for Oscar, less so for Lando. I’m sure Lando’s a little bit grumpy he’s not on that front row with him…,” Brown added, also highlighting Norris’ challenging qualifying session on the same day his teammate broke a record.

Qualifying went better for Norris than the sprint. But he would be disappointed about not getting pole. Piastri looked more comfortable and drove flawlessly on his way to earning the top spot. Norris meanwhile, was almost two-tenths slower and will start P3.

Brown feels that small mistakes cost Norris a shot at the pole. With the field—and especially Norris and Piastri’s ability behind the wheel—so close, it’s important to avoid them.

“I know it’s a short year so far but we’ve been saying this is going to be a really close season. If you miss a sector or lock a wheel you’re going to be P6 or P7.”

That said, Norris didn’t put in all of his efforts in his final Q3 lap. After losing time in the middle sector, the #4 driver bailed out on his lap to pull up into the pitlane. Had he completed that final lap, maybe he could’ve gained some time in the final sector to still land up on the front row.

Piastri makes history; Norris looks to bounce back

Piastri’s final push lap was blistering, clocking in at 1:30.641—about two-tenths faster than Hamilton’s time from the previous day. It not only confirmed that track conditions were improving but also reinforced the belief that, when pushed to its limits, the MCL39 is the fastest car on the grid.

The Melbourne-born driver will be the favorite to win the Chinese GP on Sunday, but Norris will be looking to make amends for the mistakes he made. Starting from P3, a good start could put him in a good position to threaten his partner.

“A much better direction we are going in, especially yesterday when I struggled a lot and even this morning, so not too disappointed,” he said in the post-quali interview.

That said, race starts have been Norris’ kryptonite. Last season, he had several bad starts, be it from pole or the middle of the pack. Even in Saturday’s sprint in Shanghai, the 25-year-old fell to ninth after starting P6 on the grid.

Mercedes’ George Russell will start the Chinese GP from P2 after his final push lap split the two McLaren drivers. However, given how doubtful Russell has sounded about his chances against the Woking-based team, the advantage seems to be in McLaren’s favor.