Lando Norris has been Max Verstappen’s closest rival in the last few rounds. The Brit had made a habit of finishing just a couple of seconds behind the Dutchman. The sprint in Austria saw a similar thing but things might be completely different for the main race. As Verstappen found the pace in qualifying, experts suggest that Norris could hinder his chances by being too critical.
“He will get inside his own head. As a driver, he is very critical and having a whole night to sit there and ponder how do I do this? How do I start and approach it? You can feel your own mind unravel”, said Jennie Gow on the F1: Chequered Flag podcast as she reviewed Lando Norris’ post-qualifying comments.
Norris seemed flustered by the time Red Bull and Verstappen were able to find between the Sprint race and qualifying. The Dutchman’s lap was four-tenths quicker than Norris in P2. The Brit commented on how the race win looks impossible. Even if the gap is halved, Verstappen will be 2 tenths faster a lap.
The host pointed out how Norris is overthinking and being critical of his performance, which would not be good for his race. Marc Priestley on the podcast explained that it’s about how Norris reacts to the gap. If he wonders about his failure in the Sprint, it’ll hurt his chances. On the other hand, if the Brit reviews and learns what could be done better, it’ll be a positive outcome.
Ben Edwards then discussed how the start is going to be important. He highlighted how Norris, despite being self-critical, has the confidence in himself to know he has what it takes to win the race.
Regardless, the pace found by Verstappen seems to be too much for Norris to challenge for the race win. However, McLaren can close the gap in the constructors championship.
Max Verstappen is the favorite to win in Austria; Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to put pressure on Red Bull in the championship
Verstappen with the blistering qualifying lap is the favorite to win the race by a country mile. However, things get interesting behind him. Norris will most likely hold P2 and Oscar Piastri will charge from P7 towards the podium. Mercedes and Ferrari don’t seem to have the pace of McLaren. Overtaking is easy around Austria and Piastri can make his way up to the podium.
Piastri’s lap was good enough to start on the second row but the lap time was deleted. The real problem for Red Bull is going to be Sergio Perez. The Mexican was about a second slower than Verstappen in qualifying. Meanwhile, his race results in recent races have been quite disappointing for Red Bull.
Checo struggled in the Austria Sprint and the same is expected for the race. With Norris and Piastri on the podium and Perez in the final few points finishing places, McLaren will reduce the gap to Red Bull.
The gap to the defending champions leading the standings is currently 89 points. A few good races for McLaren with Checo continuing his current form can give the Papaya team the lead in the championship.
