After edging Max Verstappen out by just two-hundredths of a second, Lando Norris bagged the pole position during the Spanish GP qualifying. The Dutchman will give it his all on race day to once again snatch the win from the Briton. However, a stat has emerged from the F1’s vault that might give Norris some extra confidence.
Norris’ pole position in Spain is the first for McLaren at this venue after 2005. The last time the Woking-based outfit bagged the top spot on the starting grid in Spain was when Kimi Raikkonen was behind the wheel. What will further reassure Norris is the fact that Raikkonen went on to win the race that weekend.
LANDO ON POLE!!!
STUNNING LAP IN SPAIN! @LandoNorris takes P1 in quali! #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/ZoOSb2akX8
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) June 22, 2024
The 24-year-old himself is in the form of his life. Couple that with McLaren engineers hitting the nail on its head with each upgrade, and you have a formidable combination.
Norris took full advantage of this overall package in Miami to bag his maiden F1 win. Since then, he has finished second twice. On each of those occasions, he came close to winning. His fantastic pole lap in Spain is a reflection of the run he is on.
However, he has a worthy opponent in Verstappen who will look to pounce on the opportunity to lead the race from the first lap itself. The reigning champion looked well on course to bag a pole position on Saturday.
That was until Norris put together an immaculate lap in the dying seconds of Q3 to edge ahead by the tiniest of margins. What is interesting about this weekend’s Spanish GP is that another interesting coincidence took place.
Yet another coincidence in Lando Norris’ pole lap
The similarity between Norris and Raikkonen’s pole lap is uncanny. However, there is another incident that coincides with the achievement. That coincidence relates to the date Raikkonen delivered the pole lap. It was the same day Oliver Bearman was born: May 8, 2005. The 19-year-old featured in FP1 earlier this weekend, driving for the Haas F1 team.
The last time a McLaren started on pole at this track was the day @OllieBearman was born, May 8 2005. And it won the race too (Kimi Raikkonen) #SpanishGP
— Sean Kelly (@virtualstatman) June 22, 2024
Bearman came into the spotlight in unlikely circumstances earlier this season. With Carlos Sainz undergoing an emergency appendix surgery during the Saudi Arabian GP weekend, Bearman got the call to fill his shoes.
To the surprise of many, the Briton qualified P11, almost beating his compatriot Lewis Hamilton to Q3. Later, he had a brilliant performance in the race as he finished P7 ahead of the seven-time champion.
Bearman is currently being touted as one of the drivers to take over a Haas seat in 2025. That is until he proves himself to be worthy enough to take over the regular driver’s duties at Ferrari.
