Lando Norris will line up fourth on Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix grid and attempt to hold his own in the 71-lap race, but the McLaren charger is bracing for a strong challenge from those behind.
Norris' performance was a personal best for the 22-year-old but also represents McLaren's best result in qualifying since 2014!
As delighted as he is with his impressive feat, Norris knows he'll have a few strong contenders snapping at his heels at the outset tomorrow.
"We had our expectations of where we thought we were going to be," he told Sky F1.
"From the very beginning, the Racing Points have been extremely quick. We never really thought we had a chance of beating them or getting close to them.
"But as we went to lower fuel and into qualifying, the car started to come alive and feel much better. This track last year was good for us, we had good confidence in the car, it suits it.
"Hopefully the race tomorrow goes well, we have two weekends of this so hopefully we can repeat it as well."
Norris singled out Racing Point and Ferrari as his two main threats given the two teams' pace on long runs. Holding his own among the top six will be his objective.
"As much as I'll be looking ahead in the race and going forward, there's a lot of cars behind us, Ferrari especially," he said.
"Their race pace is really strong, for some reason their qualifying pace is a long way off.
"So is Racing Point. They have a good car, they have a lot downforce. I think they can look after their tyres better than us but if I can stay around where I am, then I'll be happy."
Norris' teammate Carlos Sainz was eighth fastest in qualifying and will share the fourth row of the grid with Charles Leclerc for the start of the race.
"It's cool to see that, like how close it is, it makes it exciting," said Norris when asked about the fierce midfield battle.
"The car feels nice, I have good confidence. It's our best position for many many years in qualifying, but the race is another story.
"I'm happy for now, but I need to make sure I'm this happy tomorrow."
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