'We got the job done' declares 'satisfied' Norris

Friday practice had been a two-horse race between Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, but when the Ferrari threat fell away on Saturday it looked like plain sailing for Lando Norris - even if he didn't think it was.

“It was tough, especially through qualifying," he told the media in parc ferme at Marina Bay after the end of the session. "“But it was good enough for pole and I’m happy with that, especially here in Singapore."

Norris had been neck-and-neck with Leclerc in Friday practice with less than a tenth splitting the pair in FP1 and FP2. But in final practice on Saturday his closest challenger was George Russell.

But with almost half a second in hand over the Mercedes, Norris was now red hot favourite to romp to pole position for tomorrow's Singapore Grand Prix - until Max verstappen emerged as being much closer than expected.

The Red Bull was within 0.155s of Norris in Q1. Norris then saved a set of tyres by not running a second flier in Q2 but was ready to get serious in Q3 only for a red flag to force everyone to abort their first runs.

• Read also: Norris on Singapore pole from Verstappen as Sainz crashes

When the session resumed after Carlos Sainz' accident, there was only time for one push lap making it all or nothing for Norris who duly delivered a time of 1:29.525s, two tenths quicker than Verstappen despite a below-par first sector.

"I was finding it a little difficult to progress much and to get a lot of lap time, and more of the guys around seemed to get quicker and quicker," he reported.

"That put me under a bit more pressure, especially with just one lap at the end," he admitted. "My lap wasn’t as good as my lap previous to the red flag, so there’s always just that little bit more in it."

Norris admitted that the adrenalin rush of having qualifying boil down to one all-or-nothing lap with no mistakes allowed really appealed to him.

“I like it, it gets your heart rate going and it’s good fun," he said. "When you have a good-feeling car and you’re confident then you can go out and push and you can get the lap times.

"I had faith that we were quick so I didn’t have to over-push and I could just do what I’ve been doing the whole weekend,” he explained. “That’s a nice feeling - I didn’t have to go over and beyond.

“It’s tricky: the car’s moving around, it’s bumpy, it’s easy to brake one metre too late all of a sudden. You pay the price for over-driving and over-pushing, but I kept it cool and I did what I had to do.

"I felt good all weekend, I felt confident. Maybe not so much in quali, but we got the job done," he said. "I did the job I had to do today and [I’m] excited to see what we can do tomorrow.”

Now the big question is whether Norris can overcome his ongoing gremlins with converting pole position to an early race lead, especially with Verstappen poised to start the race from second place alongside him.

"It is something always to look forward to, I had a great battle with Max in Austria," he said. He'll also have to be wary of the threat posed by Lewis Hamilton who will starting from right behind him.

"They'll just probably try and play more tricks as they're smarter than other drivers and know how to play the longer or shorter game," Norris said. "There are all the championships, and something like 150 wins between them

"I've got nothing to compare to them," he shrugged modestly. "I find it cool that I am here amongst them. It's pretty awesome and I respect them a lot and have looked up to both of them for a long time - both literally and mentally!

"It doesn't change what I do, how I go out and drive, mainly because when you are on track, and I probably know what to expect a bit more from them having seen them drive.

Norris felt sure that their combined experience meant his rivals would play fair tomorrow. "They both want to drive as clean racing drivers, which they do with respect."

Meanwhile his team mate Oscar Piastri - fresh off the back of his second career Grand Prix victory in Azerbaijan - was disappointed to find himself relegated to fifth place on tomorrow's grid.

He had been quick to head out in Q3 and one of only two drivers to set a time before the red flag and to get a second run when the session resumed. But his final rime was over four tenths off Norris' benchmark.

"It was just down to me. I did a pretty poor job in the last sector and lost a lot of time there," he said, refusing the blame the circumstances. “It’s a shame because my lap was looking strong at that point.

"Very disappointing and frustrating," he added. "Just a couple too many mistakes which is frustrating.

"I felt pretty comfortable through qualifying. The pace in the car has been really strong all weekend. It’s taken me a while to unlock it but I felt like I was more or less on the pace in quali. If anything it just makes it even more frustrating.”

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